Teach Me
by Kicho-chan
Summary: She couldn't keep her hands off of him. Every time he reached for his food, she reached for his hand. She found lame excuses to touch him, apologized without want whenever her foot "accidentally" bumped into his, and laughed out of order whenever he spoke of something somewhat funny. Of course he noticed this. He just didn't do anything about it...
1. Face the Facts

**Note: I do not under any circumstances own either ****Naruto**** or any of the other characters. In my opinion, they own me especially Neji (That smexy beast). But in the occasion, I do own this here story you are about to read. So um yeah, don't like don't read SOMEONE will like it you turds.**

Chapter 1: Face the Facts

Tenten looked bored as she sat there listening to her friends babble on about things she could care less about. They steadily talked about love, and who they slept with lately, who they plan to sleep with later on in their lives, and who they wouldn't mind sleeping with. All of it was useless to the less then interested Tenten, who was falling asleep on her lunch break, something she has been doing a lot ever since Hinata found someone interesting in her life.

"Now girls, when I say this man is wilder than ever that's being judged on how much he rocked my world and my bed." Ino giggled. The others, Sakura, Hinata and Temari laughed along with their friend as they sat there listening to the latest relationship news brought to the by Ino herself. Among all of the girls in the group, Ino was the most popular when it came to looks. Though she had a very high-class job, she still managed to appear sexy and job appropriate at the same time, something the others couldn't do as well. She was the CEO of her job and she ruled as that with an iron fist, yet at the same time, she was graceful with her motives, her work and her progress. She was loved by many because of this and recognized as the model of the business world.

Sakura was the complete opposite of her childhood friend. She was a very clever worker, with confidence radiating off of her like a light bulb. She was a very generous person with good intensions, but she has a very short temper and tends to be very moody at times. Her impatience and her short fuse is probably what caused her to not get a better job than Ino.

Hinata on the other hand was too different compared to the others. She, unlike everyone else, had a very shy attitude, so mostly everyone thought she wouldn't last in the real world, but, to their surprise, she owns her own company. It mainly came from her intellect and family linage as well. Though the company was inherited by her from her father the previous owner, Hinata still shows her shine as one of the Japans richest women. Her whole "Plan before Play" motto is probably what got her this far in t= business, along with her perseverance.

Temari could be considered Tenten herself, just with a smidge of girly-girl added to her. She was considered a leader under all others, maybe that's why she was chosen as the boss of one of the world's leading companies? But even so, Temari was always there for her friends. Just like Sakura, Temari had a rather short fuse, and just like Ino, Temari was infatuated with herself and thought that all others should be as well. With that said, she tends to act a bit too bossy.

Tenten was the only other one that wasn't big in the lime life like her friends. Instead of working as the boss or the leader or even the owner, she worked as the employee, but of a big corporation that paid pretty well. Her friends tended to blame this outcome on her friendliness and sympathy. Because of her being an easy target, what with the overly imaginative mind and easily influenced thoughts, she tends to get carried away from her main motive, and that's how she managed to get a lower job than the others. Even so, she was an excellent friend who the others trusted 100%, but not even her friendliness could handle the mushy gushy conversation her friends were having without he concern.

"Tenten," Sakura finally cooed, lowering the level of the conversation to a more serious one, "when are you going to get yourself a decent man to give _**it**_ up to?"

"As soon as I find one that can live up to my expectations."

"Aw come on, Ten! There are hardly any men that can meet your expectations, at least any good looking ones. How about you just find one, get laid, then call it a day with that one and find you another." Ino played.

"No! I refuse to be labeled as some kind of whore who's easy to lie down. I want someone that can take care of me and satisfy my needs. I want a real man, Ino."

"Then you might as well give up." Temari laughed. Tenten glared at her then at the other two who dared to laugh at her tastes.

"Face it Tenten, at the rate you're going, you won't get a good one till you start seeing spider webs down there." Sakura joked. The other laughed along, but Tenten found no humor in her friends jokes and could feel tears swell up at the corners of her eyes, but she held them back and took what they were saying head on.

"I don't see anything wrong with wanting an independent guy around."

"Nothing's wrong with that it's just that you want way too much in those said independent guys. I mean, you want them to be independent and for them to understand that you too are independent but you also want them to take care of you and know every little detail about you, and to not get carried away with the lime life. Tenten as far as I'm concerned, there are hardly any guys out there that fit those standards. You want too much from them and because of that no guy is going to want to deal with you, sweetie, no matter how cute you may be." Temari added.

Tenten looked at here with defeat in her eyes. Temari knew her all too well, and then again, the others did as well. They knew that no matter how angered she gets at one of them, she still wouldn't blame the whole thing on that one person, she would take most the blame on herself then try to deal with it alone, only to over think the outcome and hurt herself to the point past no return. "Fine," She groaned, "what do you suggest I do then, since you guys know all too well about the theories of dating."

"I know." Hinata chimed. "My father and I are throwing a party this weekend. All of the big names in business will be there for sure, and he said I can invite some friends if I liked so how about I invite all of you. I'm sure you'll find someone there that interests you, Tenten."

"That's a good idea." Ino added. "And look at it like this. If she doesn't, at least we know we will." The others laughed at her, all but Tenten who was getting annoyed of the scenery she was seeing too much lately.

"Fine! I'll go, and when I do manage to find one, I'll be proving to you guys once and for all, that my type of guy does exist, even if he only exists for me."

"Couldn't help but notice that you said 'manage to find one'." Ino pointed out as she sipped her tea. Sakura and the others giggled lightly and did the same before looking up at their rather flustered friend.

"You know what I meant!" Tenten yelled before standing up. "I have to go I have a job to attend."

"You'll be at the party wont you?" Hinata asked.

"Hai hai." Tenten sighed as she walked out leaving her sex obsessed friends behind.


	2. A Players Passage

**Note: I do not under any circumstances own either ****Naruto**** or any of the other characters. In my opinion, they own me especially Neji (That smexy beast). But in the occasion, I do own this here story you are about to read. So um yeah, don't like don't read SOMEONE will like it you turds.**

Chapter 2: A Players Passage

"So you're telling me that these people really can't see us behind this window, Neji." Naruto asked as he and the others sat there staring at the people that walked by unknowingly knowing that they were being watched.

"Yup. No one knows that we are watching them and we are completely unseen by the human eye behind this glass." Neji answered once he joined them, Naruto, Saskue, and Lee, on the couch.

"That's amazing Neji!"Lee hollered in his usual loud voice. "How could you afford something like this?"

Neji looked at his friend, his strangely enough best friend at that, and glared at him before allowing that infamous Hyuuga smirk to his face. "Lee…did you forget who I am. I am **the **Neji Hyuuga. As far as I'm concerned getting the money to afford this was petty money. My name is known all throughout Japan and I do plan to keep it at that."

"Nice going Lee."Saskue moaned as he went back to staring at the "idiots" as he called them. "Now you got Neji going on one of his boasting rampages again."

"Why does he only do that whenever Lee asks something?" Naruto questioned.

"I don't know, probably because they're close friends or something like that."

"Really?"

Hn. was the only thing Saskue said after that signaling the end of their conversation.

"Hey, Neji can you ever make this thing turn into a regular window like for if you want to broadcast your work to everyone." Naruto asked unwilling to let the people be the only entertainment.

"Hm? Oh yeah, I just have to turn on the main lights. Right now, though we have light on this side, to the people walking by all they see is a pitch black.

"So, how are the ratings going so far, Uchiha?" Neji asked still standing by the arm of the couch that was fixated in the shops mirror.

"Like crap. Everyone that's passing by is either a guy or a really ugly girl that should have no business even bothering to check up on her appearance."

The others laughed though the Uchiha was serious on his previous comment. Saskue just sat there dumfounded by the fact that even after he said it, things only got worse which in turn made his friends laugh even harder.

Saskue Uchiha, the most successful of the boys next to Neji, was what you called a typical rich boy who was annoyed with the ways of the rich because of a family he never had. For several years of his young life Saskue was known to be almost as cold as Neji, the King of Cold himself. His reason was because at a young age his parents and whole family were murdered one by one until only him, his elder brother Itachi, and their uncle Madara. Itachi was accused for the murder of the whole Uchiha family but was later proven innocent and sat free without a single charge. It's because of that and the fact that his unemotional brother didn't even break when he saw the bodies of his parents or when they were at the funeral. Aside from that horrible past, Saskue pretty much lives a rich life with everything he could ever ask for, anything he could wish for right there at his feet whenever he just as much lifted a finger. He was the most cherished child of his parents there for he got most of the family's money and even the family business when his brother was clearly next in line. He was the type of guy that tended to keep quiet and not smile all too often, similar to Neji in a way just with way more smiles. Both guys tend to only really smile a lot whenever they are near close friends. Saskue is the kind of guy that if you let him, he will get overly cocky with his looks, beliefs and talent, and if you dare to insult him then he would snap on you in an instant. Even so, when he was around friends he tends to show care for them, though he often insults Naruto his best friend.

Neji on the other hand wasn't as bad as Saskue when it comes to the background in which he grew up in but it still was bad. Neji, in more than one way was considered a child prodigy in the Hyuuga family even though he was from the second branch of the family. He was close to becoming the next heir to the Hyuuga's fortune until his dad, the heir to be before him, died in a horrible accident that left Neji alone to be shunned by the members of the first branch of the Hyuuga family and that gave up his position to his less than him cousin, Hinata. For several years, he has held a grudge against her, making all his problems her fault, until he just gave up o it all, wanting to end it all and to meet his father wherever he was. But he was stopped by Lee who somehow saw past his mask and helped him deal with his situation. To this day it's because of Lee that Neji is still alive and he and Hinata are now on good terms. Ever since then he has learned to coop with his problems and hide his face more clearly form all emotions that dared to enter, only showing their rare sights to people he felt deserved to see them. He now leads a pretty successful life as one of Japan's hottest fashion designers. His clothing line is all over, and only the best of the best wear them. Like Saskue Neji's a little hard around the edges and is bound to never smile even when around friends out of fear of letting his guard down low enough for others to see his past wounds, even so, he's a very caring person that only cares for the well beings of his friends and Hinata, since she's family and really the only one he'll trust.

Naruto was the complete opposite of Saskue and Neji to add to the list. Even though he lived a rather horrible life being abandoned at birth because of both of his parents deaths, and being ridiculed as nothing more than a bum for the first 10 to 11 years of his life till he was taken in by a man named Iruka, then later on adopted by another man named Jiraiya, but before all of that he met Saskue his first true friend. After all of that Naruto tried his hardest to get jobs, though, because of his being hated by the others he never got one till Saskue recommended him as at least a janitor, which he gladly accepted. Was and is a very loud mouthed boy that never knew when to shut up. He was a very optimistic person that believed he would one day reach the top of the business world and show up everyone that dared to put him down before, and when it comes to friends, hardly anything comes before them to him.

Lee was similar to Naruto, but he was laughed at more because of his lack of being able to do every possible thing he wants to do. His history is nowhere near as bad as the others but even so they accept him all the way through because of his hard work and dedication to his, what might not be possible, dream. He currently is working with Neji as his personal assistant because of his closeness with him and his ability to see through Neji's unbreakable poker face.

All four boys including some others are considered the "Life of the Parties" because any party with even just four of them is considered to bring the dullest of parties to life.

"N-Neji San!" a shrill voice yelled making the boys jump in confusion.

The main light was on now and the people who were just staring at their reflections were surprised to see the four there so suddenly.

"That is our sign to go."Neji sighed as he walked off before he could clearly be seen.

"Neji San?"The voice repeated in a more feeble tone.

"Hinata! What are you doing here?"

The shy Hyuuga girl looked at him with clear eyes and innocence beaming off of her as she tends to do whenever around her cousin. Quickly she bowed her head much to his surprise. "Neji San, if you don't mind, I would want you and your friends to come along to fathers party he's holding in two days."

"No."

"Ah, but-"

"Hinata I'm not going and that's final."

"But Neji, please, I'm doing this for my friend! I promised her she would be impressed and would defiantly find someone of her interest! And as far as I'm concerned you and your friends are the only ones who can bring in anyone that's not old and perverted. You don't even have to stay. You can just show up for a couple of seconds then leave. All I need is you to be there then others of her likings will defiantly come to see you and the boys. By then she might actually meet someone please, Neji, please! I'm begging you!"

The elder Hyuuga simply glared at her, which he tends to do to mostly everyone, answering her question in silence rather than in words. Hinata simply stared at him in disbelief. She was amazed that such a strong person could be so week when it came to his focus of hatred, his uncle and all others of the first branch except for her.

"Fine," she finally cooed with a hint of anger in her tone a surprising thing she hardly ever does, "If you won't help then I guess I'll just have to do it myself. Thanks for nothing, Neji." She turned with watered eyes just on the bridge of falling into tears when a familiar giggle struck her curiosity."

"Aw come on Neji." The voice laughed. "I know you're on bad terms with the higher ups of your family and all, but that shouldn't give you a reason to let them ruin all the fun for you."

Hinata turned just in time to see Naruto steep out from around the corner. He smiled at her before turning back to Neji. "Why don't you just go already? It's not like it'll kill you and besides she said so herself, if it bothers you that much, you can just leave whenever, right?" He declared making sure the last question was for Hinata to answer.

She blushed wildly then shook her head making sure to avoid eye contact. All Naruto did was smile back at her.

"Come on Neji. It'll be fun I bet. I can call Shikamaru and Choji to come on over and we can all go together."Lee smiled.

"It couldn't hurt to just drop by as a group like in our teen days." Saskue added.

"So what do you say Neji."Naruto cooed, "You going, or are you just going to leave the group hanging?"

Neji stared at his friends before looking back at Hinata who was still beet red and ignoring the stares from the others. "All of you are idiots…but…you're my idiots I guess." He smirked; the closest thing most anyone got to a smile, before turning back on the people he called friends. "And since you guys are so stupid, I'm going to have to go to keep you in order."

"Ah! So does this mean-"

"Yes Hinata I'll go."

"T-thank you, Neji San I promise you won't regret it!"

"Hai, hai, and if I do then it's on you Hinata."

"Understood! Bye Neji San, Naruto, Lee and Saskue San, too. See you at the party." With that said and her cousin's word on going, she left with a rather big smile on her face.

"Hinata sure has grown hasn't she?"Lee smiled at Neji expecting a reaction.

"Hn."

"Is that really your only reply?"

"Hn."

Naruto laughed as he continued to watch Hinata's departing figure. "Neji was never the one to care for her enough to get angered at someone that said something lewd about her, probably because she stole his position and all. Either way, I'm going to agree with Lee on this one. Hinata sure has grown up. I wonder if she remembers me."

"Shut up, Naruto."

"He's a noob, Neji. He wouldn't understand."

"Understand what?" Naruto asked.

"But it was obvious, wasn't it?"

"Apparently it was only to use Lee."

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing, noob."

"Seriously, what did I do?"

_**Two days later:**_

Ino stepped out of her limo and onto the red carpet with a classy air around her. Her long blonde hair that was usually tied up was let down and flowing behind her in an elegant matter. She wore a black and purple dress that had a v cut down the middle till the middle of the dress. It flowed behind her much like her hair and allowed her to reveal her legs in the front.

Coming out next was Sakura with her short pink hair put up in a cute messy pony tail at the top of her head. She wore a short one sleeved red dress with a black belt across the middle and black stockings equipped with matching black shoes.

Temari for once let her hair down and curled it loosely for a softer look. She had on an all black strapless mermaid tail dress, the kind that stuck to her legs and flared out at the bottom. She also had on silver diamond earrings and a matching diamond necklace, and black diamond embedded heels as well.

Tenten, the last of her friends to step out, wore something less flashy but still etiquette enough for a Hyuuga brand party(to her at least). Her hair, much like Sakura's, was up in a cute messy bun on the lower right side of her head. She wore a loose white shirt that fell over her shoulders to her arms and an even looser black dress and black strapped heels. Her jewelry consisted of white earrings and a black and white bracelet on both wrists and no necklace because she lost the one that matched to it. Her overall appearance gave off a child like aura that even made her look much younger.

"Honestly, Tenten," Temari complained as she looked over her friend once more. "You could have worn something classier."

"This is classy."

"In what country, Tenten!" yelled Ino out of anger. "You see, this is why I always suggest that we, as in you, me, Hinata, Sakura and Temari, all go shopping together, because YOU are in dire need for an update in your wardrobe!"

"I think it's cute." A meek voice chirped.

The girls turned and stared in awe at Hinata as she walked up to them in her pure white dress. It was cut short near the top of her knees and the top half was sleeveless and painted gold in beads and ribbon. She wore matching shoes and jewelry, and her hair was curled loosely down by the bottom half.

"Thanks, Hinata."

"I mean yeah its cute and all, and it does suit you based on your look and taste, but it makes you look like a high scholar girl waiting on her long awaited date."

"Ino!"Hinata yelped.

"Well at least I don't look like some whore waiting for her gigolo on the street corner!" Tenten exploded. She covered her mouth just as she said it but it was too late. Ino and everyone else who was around heard he comment and were know gawking at her in disbelief. Tears began to form around the rims of her eyes as she stared at her friends and the other people around her. "I-I," she began, "I need a drink."

"Tenten wait!" Hinata yelled after her disappearing friend. And whether or not she heard her didn't mind at that point, she wouldn't stop anyhow.

_**That night moments later:**_

"Stupid!"Tenten thought to herself as she wandered the halls of the Hyuuga main house with her drink in hand. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! Tenten you are such a baka! How could you say that to her? She is your friend not your enemy! You let your anger get the best of you! She may never want to talk to you again! Ugh! Baka! Baka, baka, baka! You don't deserve to have such a pretty friend like her. You don't deserve any of them as friends really! You deserve to die a cold and lonely death. That should give you enough time to think over what you just did, what you said you Idiot! It's all your fault. You deserve this. You deserve to be treated like shit. You deserve to be left alone." She looked up from her rampage and stared at the unfamiliar background. "…and you deserved to be lost in this huge mansion that you know nothing about…great what else could go wrong?"

Tenten sighed then picked up her pace as she rounded the corner, preparing herself for a run through to find her way out when she suddenly into a wall.

"Really, a dead end!"She yelled as she held her pulsing nose. "And I spilled my drink in the process! Why even have a corner if there's no hall!"

"Hey weird girl!" an annoying voice shrieked. Tenten looked up then stared at the group of girls staring down at her. One was standing closer to her with her arms crossed. Tenten guessed that she was the one who was talking.

"I'm not weird!"Tenten complained.

The girl ignored her comment then went back to a full standing stance as she draped her arms around the man Tenten hadn't realized till now. "Apologize to him, now!" she ordered.

But Tenten ignored her and helped herself up, then stared at the boy in front of her. His hair flowed long behind him and his white eyes seemed to see through her right to her heart. She stood there frozen by his beauty and amazed by his grace. Even standing there with a ton of girls desperately clinging to his arms he still seemed perfect for her. He seemed independent. He seemed understanding. He looked jumpable even. He looked like her perfect match.

"W-who are you?" She asked now completely tuning out the pack of wild dogs called girls who were screeching and barking insults at her constantly.

All he did was glare at her. His eyes were bright and traveling up her like he was searching for something. His mouth; fixed, as if he was afraid to move it out of its position. Then it happened. A corner of his mouth rose into a small smirk, proof of her acceptance, but it fell back down before she could clearly soak it in.

"Neji." He replied. "Hyuuga Neji."


	3. So Human

**Yeah I'm tired of saying that already. Yall get the picture so yeah…just read…**

Chapter 3: So Human

The sound of the soft music was fading away into the distance, the voices of people talking also disappeared slowly, carefully even, as she stared into what seemed to be white pits of nothingness. These eyes, just as cold as ice peered back at her showing off this type of agile beauty and mystery. To her they seemed so familiar, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. Not yet.

"Neji." She mimicked him, not caring to add an honorific at the end. Her eyes traveled up his body. He was tall for sure, but anyone was considered tall to her. His hair, just as she noted before, was long and gracefully beautiful. It seemed to flow behind him even without the breeze blowing it every which way. His pale skin, though almost ghostly seemed to fit the cold nature he put around him. He was perfect in every which way, and she had to have him.

"Hey!" the loud mouthed girl yelled again, this time catching Tenten's attention. "When you are addressing this man you do not just say Neji you say Neji- San, and if you don't know him to well, which you do not, you call him Hyuuga- San. Got it?"

Tenten stared at the girl with bored eyes. She was a pretty girl but nowhere near as pretty as anyone of her friends. Her hair, much like his, was long and dark brown. Her skin was more like Ino's, with a slight tint of natural blush added to her cheeks and her eyes instead of a pure unreadable white color were black with hatred pointed dead at Tenten who didn't seem to care all too much. Unlike Tenten, however, she was tall. Her face was close to his, while Tenten sat comfortably under mostly every guy's chin. Her body was fuller even, almost as full as Hinata's and Ino's, but not quite there yet.

"Hey, are you listening to me Shorty? Speak when you are being spoken to!"

"Excuse me but I don't talk to bitches, so please stop talking to me." Tenten sang as she stood there still staring with boredom covering her face.

A small laugh left the boy's mouth, but it disappeared, much like every other emotion that managed to escape through his expressionless barrier, too soon for anyone to be able to hear it. But the girl didn't find it as funny as he did.

"Excuse me? Do you know who you are talking to?" she questioned right before she grabbed the Neji characters face and turned it towards her. "I am this guy's future wife. I am the most wonderful and most heard of beauty queen there could possibly be! I am Kin, and you better not forget it!"

"If you're so heard of," Tenten asked almost too quick for everyone to understand she was talking, "then why did I not know who you were. Doesn't seem like you're the most heard of after all, and last time I checked, Ino was known as the most heard of beauty queen around."

"Why you-ˮ

"Kin," Neji finally spoke, his voice deep, low and mesmerizing, "I'm felling thirsty, do you think you can go fetch me something to-ˮ

"RIGHT AWAY, NEJI- SAN!"

Kin turned quickly and ran past Tenten with every other girl who was clinging to that Neji guy running behind her. Tenten thought of laughing but stopped when she turned around, because he was laughing for her. His smile was beautiful. It made her feel this type if joy rise from inside her. To think that she would be able to witness something like this, something the other girls just missed.

"You sure are something to be able to stand up to Kin."

"I don't see how though. She was just some really annoying chick that I refuse to be labeled lower than."

"Hn." He replied, ending the conversation.

Tenten looked at him once again, now seeing things she didn't see before. Emotion and it was beaming off of him like the rays on the sun. He seemed like a different person now. Still the same independent person, still the same understanding person, and defiantly the same jumpable person but with the emotion added to it. She could feel her heart flutter to the thought of someone like him actually standing in front of her at the moment, till an unpleasant thought shot through.

_His future wife; she says._ _Most heard of girl;_ _she says._ _Ha! As if. Someone like her would be more known then Ino…oh….Ino….I wonder if she's mad at me. I hope she can understand why I said such foolish comments… I hope she forgives me. _Tenten looked up from her thoughts only to see a deeply in thought Neji, staring earnestly at her with eyes as readable as an open book. _I wonder…_ she thought, _is that Kin chick really his future wife? Why would he want a girl like her? Oh well there's more fish in the sea I guess…_

"Hey." Neji suddenly spoke scaring Tenten slightly. He smirked, an artificial smile most people probably always saw and for some reason cherished. "What's your name?"

"Tenten…" She replied softly unsure if she should have told him that.

"…Tenten…" he cooed, also not bothering to add honorifics much like her doings.

"Well how are you going to pay for this, Tenten?" he questioned, grabbing the sleeve of the shirt she wore under her dress. Its white color was now spotted with the red coloring from her drink she lost in the process of bumping into Neji earlier.

"Oh, this old thing, it's nothing really. I have a ton of these back at home so I could just send it to the cleaners or you know, wash it to my best abilities."

"That's all good an all," Neji chuckled still playing with the sleeve of her shirt but now looking at her more than anything, "but I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about my suit, how are you going to pay for it?"

Tenten blinked, baffled by his statement then looked down at the suit. Just like her shirt, but worse, his beige colored suit was covered in a rather breath taking color of velvet rose red wine. Her eyes dropped quickly from delight to fear for some reason, and she looked up at him with concern. All he did was smile brightly at her with a rather fake smile.

"Oh I am so sorry! I-I really didn't mean to-ˮ she stopped midsentence and glared at him one more time. His "smile" was still plastered on his face and nothing seemed to bother him, not even the stain, so she threw it to the side. "Whoa wait…you mean to tell me that you could care less about my outfit, but when it comes to yours, that's when it matters?"

"Pretty much." Neji clarified with a stoic expression but amusement in his eyes as he walked off, slowly taking off his coat jacket so as to not get the red substance on the clean white shirt he wore under it. "Besides, as far as price comes in, mine defiantly cost a whole lot more than yours; it's name brand and yours is…not."

"So!" Tenten argued. "I'm a girl! Shouldn't I come first in this situation? Isn't that common since?"

Neji raised an eyebrow at her statement, but his amusement was killed by the familiar annoying giggles of fan girls. "Hey," he mocked in attempts to calm her down, "You're lost right? Come on, I'll bring you to the party grounds."

Tenten blinked again then pouted, but none the less, grabbed his hand and allowed him to pull her through the small crowd.

_**Same time in the corridor:**_

"Have you found her yet?" Temari asked once she gathered up with her friends.

"Nope." Sakura sighed.

"No" Ino growled.

"…" Hinata said nothing. She just looked down with a worried face.

"Gosh! How hard can it be to find one girl? I thought you said it wasn't going to be all that big, Hinata." Temari fumed at her friend out of anger from losing her closest friend in a matter of seconds.

The shy girl jumped then looked away trying her hardest to avoid her friends glare. "I-it was, b-but I was trying to help Tenten out s-so I invited m-my cousin to come b-because I k-knew that if he w-was here, more people w-would come. Honestly I wasn't expecting t-this many people to come on hearing of their arrival. I-I'm so sorry, Temari."

"You're cousin?" Ino chipped in "Who's your cousin to be able to bring forth this many people?"

"U-um, Ne-Neji-nii-sa-ˮ

"NEJI! AS IN THE NEJI HYUUGA? HE'S HERE?"

"U-un"

"Isn't Neji that famous fashion designer?" Sakura questioned.

"YES YOU BAKA! NEJI IS THE WORLDS BEST FASHION DESIGNER! I HAVE ALL OF HIS LINES! Oh! Hinata, you have to introduce me! Please?"

"U-un"

"Yes!"

"Why's it so lively here?" a comforting voice cooed making all four girls turn.

"N-Naruto kun!"

The blonde smiled to the sound of his name then looked at Hinata calmly, unknowingly melting her with it. He looked at the others as he approached her, taking a longer look at Sakura than expected. "S-so," he stuttered, "are these your friends? Introduce me will you?"

"R-right" Hinata blushed before turning to the others who instantly knew who he was. "U-um, this I-is Sakura chan, the one next to her is, u-um, Ino chan, a-and the other one he-here is T-Temari Chan."

"Oh." He cooed, keeping a close eye on Sakura. "But didn't you tell me that you had four friends not three?"

"W-well y-yes b-but w-w-w-we, u-um, w-we, u-um, we-ˮ

"We lost her in the crowd." Ino finished. "Do you mind helping us in finding her? She has brown hair and eyes and is currently wearing a rather child like outfit that makes her look like some high school girl going on a date with her beloved 'sempai'."

"Ino!" Temari growled. "She had her reasons. We made fun of her for a whole week before we got here and-ˮ

"And what? That doesn't give her a good enough excuse to embarrass me in front of all those people!"

"Only three people heard the whole thing, Ino! Let it go, let bygones be bygones will ya'?"

"Yeah Ino, Tenten had enough reasons to say all that, based on what we all said about her back then, that was a good enough punishment."

"Oh is that so, Sakura? Then why the hell was I the only one who got yelled at? Why was I the only one that got told off?"

"You were the only one that dissed her at the moment! Of course you were the only one to get yelled at!"

"Um…did I come at a bad time?" Naruto queried.

"N-no, it's just that right now Tenten and Ino are on bad terms." Hinata sighed. "I just hope we can find her and solve all of these problems at once."

"Oh…well sorry I can't be of much help when it comes to finding something, but' he chirped while looking around till his eyes locked on a crowd of screaming fan girls. He walked up to it then jerked out a rather thankful boy and tugged him back to the quarreling group of girls. "But I'm sure Saskue can, ne?"

Saskue looked around now confused on why he was brought here, till he saw the three girls fighting beside Hinata. "Hey Hinata, you do know that there's a group of girls fighting behind you, right?"

"Y-yes. They are my friends, please excuse them."

"Will do, now, noob, why did you bring me here?"

"U-um, S-Saskue kun," Hinata called, catching his attention. "I-it's me. I need your help. I-I'm looking for my last friend. We lost her in the crowd. Do you think you can help us find her?"

"I can try, but at a moment like this you might need Lee, since he has the most energy out of all of us. But if he doesn't help much either I can always call Neji."

"Oh yeah, and I can call Shikamaru or Choji or Sai!"

"S-Sai?"

"He's new. Naruto brought him in."

"I-I see."

"Well anyways, well be off then. Hey how does she look, that friend of yours?"

"Ino said she has brown hair and eyes and based on her clothing, she looks like a high school girl waiting on her date with her beloved 'sempai'."

"…"

"…N-Naruto kun…you didn't have to say it exactly like that…"

"Eh, but isn't it true?"

"W-well y-yes, b-but-ˮ

"Then don't you worry Hinata. We'll defiantly find your little friend, believe it!"

"Hn"

"We'll see you later, Hinata, and I promise you that one of us will have found your friend or my name isn't Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto turned around and fallowed the now departing Saskue leaving Hinata alone with her belligerent friends.

_Sigh. Naruto kun, Saskue kun, please hurry. I don't think I can stop them by myself._

_**Minutes before the party end:**_

"H-hey s-stop will ya'. We have been running through these halls for forever, and I know I saw a large group of people several times before. W-what's going on? Answer me!"

Neji stopped and stared at her with a stoic face and his mouth open and taking in precious breaths of air. She was right. Ever since they started they have been running through the halls each time passing by eligible places where the party might be held at, but each time never once turning towards them.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know where the party is."

"What? So this whole time you were just pulling me around aimlessly every which way!"

"Hn"

"Hn? What's that? Is that some kind of answer? How about you use something other than, 'Hn', for a change?"

"…Hm."

"REALLY!" Tenten screamed, blocking out his soft laughter from the world. It seemed to her that he enjoyed teasing her, since he's been doing it from the very beginning.

"Honestly now, you really are an amusing girl. What are you looking for anyways?"

"My friends. I need to apologize for what I said earlier, not that it would matter much to you."

"Hn."

"Seriously stop."

"I rather not."

"Ha! You just did."

"Hn." Neji smirked. He wondered how she got him to talk so much, how he felt so comfortable around a girl like her much like he did around his friends and Hinata. Even with them, he never let his guard down this much; he always had a limit but with her it was like the limit was endless.

He looked down at her small fuming figure as she yelled at him for unknown reasons. Right now, they were alone. At this very moment they were in the farthest part of the Hyuuga compounds so no one would hear them. So right now, at that very moment, he could have done anything to her, and not once has she ever taken notice of it.

"Are you listening to me, Neji?"

"Hm? "

"Really! I could have said something important just then."

"You didn't."

"How would you know?"

"Because, even though I didn't hear you, I still saw you, and you looked like you were yelling nonsense at me something you have been doing for the last few minutes we've been together."

"Minutes? Neji it has been hours, the party ends at 12 and its 11:35!"

"Huh…time must have slipped away for a moment."

"Well not to me it hasn't. Ugh, my thoughts of you have completely changed."

"…Hn…?" Neji rose an eyebrow at her signaling his interest on the subject they somehow fallen upon. He didn't even know she was _thinking_ of him in such a manner to begin with.

Tenten, on seeing his interest rise, blushed to the sudden realization of her words and she quickly turned away. "I-it's nothing, really." She coaxed, hopping that he would take that for his answer. "I was just…testing you based on your actions."

"Testing me? Why _ever_ would you do such a thing?" Neji continued obviously not buying her excuse.

"No reason, gosh! Get off my back would you!"

"On your back?" Neji argued, moving closer without her knowing. When he figured he was close enough he draped his arms around her neck and pulled her closer to him until her back was touching his chest. "This is on your back. What I was doing before was simply having a conversation with you, Tenten."

Tenten flinched but didn't move. She stayed perfectly still and kept her breath leveled and even so as to not let him think he had the upper hand. She shivered a little when his hand brushed softly against one of her cheeks, but aside from that there was no other movement coming from her.

"Ten…" Neji grunted softly in her ear. She turned only to find herself inches away from him. And for a moment, the thought to kiss him crossed her mind. The thought to intrude this person's lips right at that moment filled her thoughts to the brim. She couldn't think of anything else to do.

_It's alright. _She thought. _ Ino does it all the time. There's no crime in trying it out right. Besides, he probably doesn't want me for anything else but sex, so I won't see him again afterwards right. There's nothing wrong with a one night stand, hell even Sakura's done it before, ne? And I'm pretty sure Temari has too, she's pretty enough for it. This guy himself probably has a ton of girls he's one-night-stand-ed before me, ne? I bet no one will miss me for one night anyways, not after that little rampage I had with the girls earlier, oh no, I won't be missed at all._

"Kiss me, Tenten."Neji dared as he stopped moving even though he was no more than a pages length away from her.

_There's absolutely no harm in doing this. Everything will be alright. No one will be affected at all. Besides, lowering my standards for just one day isn't all that bad. It won't mean a thing. Yeah…that's right…it won't mean a…a damn thing…_

She kissed him, softly but strongly, wanting him to understand her needs, what she was craving for at the moment: Him. Him and only him, that's what she wanted, nothing more. Much to her delight, he seemed to take note of her hormones and took full control of their situation, grabbing her butt to tease her a little, squeezing and kneading it desperately trying her hardest not to unravel it now. It wasn't that he loved her and vice versa, it was more like the ecstasy that was being caused from all the groping and moaning and grinding. It was the very feeling of someone touching her that caused her to moan the way she did, and it was the sheer pleasure he felt _from_ touching her that caused him to go deeper into the kiss. It was because of those reasons that the two felt the way they did right now. Nothing else, no not even feelings. Besides, who wouldn't feel this way after being kissed like that willingly may I add. They were only humans, doing a rather humanly thing, just with no un-needed feelings added into the concoction.

"**Alright people,**" a rather bold voice echoed temporarily breaking the two from their kiss. "**The party is just about over, so I advise you all leave in an orderly fashion. Thank you all for coming, now get out I'm tired.**"

A considerable amount of laughter fallowed the voice even though it was evident that he was serious about his statement and no humor was added to it at all.

Tenten focused back on Neji who was smiling in the distance of the voice before he turned back to her with the infamous smirk plastered on his face. "Looks like we gotta' go, Tenten."

"…H-hn." She whispered.

"Let's go then."

She looked at him with bright eyes clearly painting the pictures she had stored in her head during the kiss in them. He chuckled at that then pulled her back along the path they walked on, heading back to the back of the Hyuuga manner where he could safely enter and leave as he pleased.

_**Leaving the party; Neji's POV:**_

_Damn it all. How could I let this girl get a hold of me? I didn't expect her to actually kiss me based on all the things I've done to her, hell I didn't expect her to kiss me that strong even. Shit! She's got me all excited and at a party! I mean, she doesn't even look that appealing. She resembles a high school girl high sprung on life or something along those lines. I can't believe I'm even pulling her towards my Limo like this. What about Lee? That boob's going to need a new ride home now. There's no way I can let him see me like this. Hell, I can't let __**anyone**__ see me like this? This is not the Public Neji Hyuuga way. I guess I just have to settle this now more than ever. After this, I won't deal with her anymore. I hope that doesn't hurt her, she's too cute to be crying over someone like me. Heh. I don't deserve her tears._

_**Same time; Tenten's POV:**_

_Am I really doing this? Am I really about to soil my name like this, even though I don't have a last name really, but still, what I'm doing is unnecessary! Wait…was that Ino just now? I never got to apologize to her yet…I hope she can find the time to forgive me. Well enough moping around. This is what you need right now, something to take your mind off of everything that's been happening. Look at it on the bright side girly, at least he's hot, and you'll probably never see him again after this. Yeah…you'll never see him again so it doesn't matter…it's not like he has feelings for me. I don't even have to tell anyone about this. I can just keep it a secret. What happens during the Hyuuga party stays with the Hyuuga party._

**:_:**

**Well there you go. Please remember to review because it makes me happy.**

ᴋᴲᴎᴑᴛᴈ ᴀ**.ᴋ.ᴀ. ᴋᴉᴒԋᴑ ****is out. Peace!**

**(Keynote A.K.A Kicho)**


	4. Irritating

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN NARUTO….That is all.**

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><p><strong>Oh and a special thanx to <strong>**DarkAnonymous324**** for reviewing to every chapter so far and to ****twins.1994**** for giving me your opinion…couldn't have done it without you guys!**

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><p>Chapter 4: Irritating<p>

Sweat covered faces dyed in fantasy worlds vivid with ecstasy and satisfaction, taunting blushes of sheer arousal mixed with intense exhales and strained intakes, crazed hands reaching for better places to hold on to, places that wouldn't move when gripped, or places that wouldn't crush from the squeezing of her hands, soft or loud bliss-filled moans echoing through his ears, her ears…and warm, living, pulsing bodies compacted together, dancing closely and professionally as if they were trying out for an audition and the prize; to see who could reach the top the fastest before the music stopped. The winner was obvious. From the very beginning she knew she was no match for him. He was, after all, a man, and this type of dancing was a man's profession. Some women were also known as professionals at the Erotic dance but she herself was not considered to be on that type of "level" yet, at least not compared to him.

Tenten laid facing away from the sleeping body beside her. Both were naked, both, if even once considered one, were no longer innocent. Their dirty deeds were complete and now all she had to do was leave. She was up mainly because of her internal clock set in her head. It woke her up specifically at 6 o'clock, the time she normally got ready to go to work, but for some reason, she didn't want to leave. Not just yet.

She turned and stared at the man sleeping peacefully next to her. Nothing seemed to bother him, not her being there, not her constant moving, her open eyes locked on his closed ones, her cool breath on his pale skin, nothing! It all just made him sleep harder.

_Damn he can sleep. I wonder what wakes him up in the mornings._ She pondered, wanting to wake him, but not daring to do so at the same time.

"Guess I'll just make my way then." She sighed as she rose from the bed and stretched, moaning in the process. "Besides, he doesn't look like he'll budge anytime soon. I'll just take a shower and bee on my way."

"To where?"

"Work, duh."

"What are you going to wear?"

"The same thing I guess. I can always just go home and change before I meet the girls anyways."

"Hn."

"Yeah, h-…wait what!" She turned and stared at him, that very man who was sleeping not too long ago. "What the hell! Weren't you just asleep?"

"Yes, but I heard a pleasing sound and it woke me up early. - (1) -What are you doing? There's no way you can go to work wearing what you wore yesterday. People are going to suspect something."

"Like I said, I can go home before I meet the girls to change cloths."

"But when you go back to work in a different outfit what will the other expect?"

"…I-I didn't think about that part."

"Hn."

"Well what do you suggest I do then, genius?"

"First take a shower I'm more then sure you don't feel `clean' right now, now do you?"

Tenten blushed then stomped to the bath room. She could feel his eyes piecing her up and down as he watched every move that her body made, every twitch in her hip, every bounce in her breasts, and every jump of her butt. She felt violated almost, even though she already slept with the boy she still felt uncomfortable walking bare in his house.

"N-no peaking." She squirmed as she stuck her head out the bathroom door, trying her hardest to hide the rest of her body.

"Already did." Neji smirked in reply.

She closed, or rather slammed the door shut then locked the lock firmly. Neji laughed at her, his interest once again rising because of her actions. He returned back to his normal impassive self once he heard the shower running, letting his professional mood take over as he wondered through his room looking through the closets and closets full of his merchandise.

_So she's a tomboy._ He thought. _Interesting._

_**Same time in the bathroom:**_

_What's up with that guy?_ Tenten thought as she stood under the running water. _Who the hell does he think he is, bossing me around like that? I mean, it's not like he's my "baby daddy" or something like that, ne? Humph. The nerve of that guy…wait…why did I even listen to him in the first place?_

"Ugh this is all just so frustrating!" Tenten yelled.

"What is?"

"NOTHING THAT CONCERNS YOU, BAKA!"

"Hn."

_Grr! He really grinds my gears, and what's worse is that he's making this harder than it should be. We should just leave things the way they are and call it quits. There's no point in him helping me if we're never going to see each other again. He's such a weird guy. And what's up with him always saying "Hn" all the time? What, does he not know any other words? Man I need to get out of here! _She blushed wildly at the thought of her actually taking interest in that boy, the boy that was worthy enough for her body. Then she blushed some more after realizing she was blushing from thinking about him. _Damn it all. _She thought. _What does he do that makes me want to know more? Who is this man?_

The water stopped and she stood there, her hands on the faucet and her head staring at her body. Another blush painted her cheeks a shade of tickle me pink as she pondered on what part of her body interested him enough to make him want to sleep with her.

_Was it my butt? _She questioned as she squeezed each cheek in the palm of her hands. _Maybe my breasts. _She squeezed them as well, flushing at the marks she found on them and hopping that no one would notice them. _Ah maybe it was…but how would he know about that? He didn't touch me there till we got here…or maybe in the car…but still he…I mean…_

"I just don't get it." She stepped out of the shower, wet of course, and grabbed a towel to dry off. She moved slowly till she reached the fogged up mirror over the sink and counter, her eyes locked on the blurred reflection of her body.

A knock echoed into the room and she jumped and covered herself more thoroughly before staring at it making sure it wouldn't open.

"I-I fine." She answered an unasked question. "I'll be out soon."

"…" No reply but she knew he left.

Once again, she stared at herself. The mirror had cleared up, the reflection was no longer foggy and she could see clearly what it was she was staring at. Her body, slim yet thick, small but huge, mimicked her every move in that mirror. It frowned at her, much as she was doing to it, but for some reason she couldn't stop staring at it, gawking at its actions. Watching as it removed the towel and carefully touched its chest where the pink mark dwelled. Following its hands as they slid down its body vigilantly, treating it's self as if it was a new born pup needing only soft strokes to please it, then raised back up to cup its chest in the palms of its hands and squeeze both carefully. Tenten, surprising herself, hissed at its actions but didn't stop it. It was making her wonder more and more, what was so good about this body, her body, that made anyone let alone him, want her. What was it about her body that made him touch her the way he did, or feel her up the way he did? What?

Another knock woke her out of her trance and she quickly went to answer. Neji, who was growing impatient, stared back at her with white eyes clear of any emotion, but she seemed to find them; anger being the clearest one.

" What's up with you? The water stopped a long time ago?"

No answer. She just stared at him with questioning eyes, wanting answers from him but not knowing how to ask them.

"…Neji…"

"Hn?"

"…Nothing. Never mind."

She walked passed him swiftly to avoid seeing his eyes, those eyes that seemed to pierce through her and see her every motive.

"Hm?"

"I said it's nothing so forget it!"

"Not a chance." Neji declared reaching for her wrist before she made it to the other side of the room where the spare clothes were. She screamed but he ignored her and proceeded in doing what it was he was doing.

"L-let me go!" Tenten yelled after being pinned to the bed once again but this time, not willingly. "This can be considered rape!"

"What's wrong with you? Tell me!"

"Why should I! I'll never see you again so why does it matter?"

"Is that why your acting all depressed, because we won't see each other again?" Neji jeered, hiding a secret smile under his usual mask.

"No!"

"Then what? Tell me!"

"It's nothing!"

"Nothing?" Neji queried in disbelief. "If it's nothing then why are you crying?"

Tenten froze. She hadn't realized she was crying till then. But it was true. She was crying and a heavy amount at that. "T-that's because you suddenly pinned me down like that." she lied. "I-it hurts you know. S-so get off will you."

"Tenten." Neji sighed as he loosened his grip on her, "that cant possible be the reason for these tears." He wiped one away before kissing her cheek softly still making her flinch in the process. "Please, Tenten, tell me. I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong with you."

"…"

"Well?"

"I-me, what...me…see."

"Hm?" He teased with a smile that reached his eyes on his face. "I didn't quite hear that. Can you repeat that?"

"Fine!" Tenten blurted letting her anger get the best of her again. "What do you see in me? What about me made you want to touch me that badly last night? What part of my body is so…so…exciting to you?"

Neji smiled for what felt like he hundredth time to him, something he hardly ever did. He let his hands slip from her wrist, but not his body from hers. He sat there, staring at her body as she laid there in the position he left her in. To him, she seemed so innocent what with that kind of face on while staring at him when neither has on enough clothing, even though it made him look like the bad guy, he couldn't help but to take her down at that very moment.

"Is that all." He questioned. Tenten stared at him, questioning his words with her expression. Neji slowly got off of her but pulled her up along with him and hauled her over towards a large mirror near the closet in the room.

Tenten unconsciously covered her body to the best of her abilities, not wanting to see what it was he saw since she couldn't see it.

"Don't cover up." He chuckled, another thing he hardly does earnestly around people. "Drop your hands. Look at yourself. You're acting like your some menace to society. Just take the time to see what I'm seeing for once and look at yourself. Truly look at yourself."

"I-ˮ she began, "I just can't see it. I don't see anything. I'm like some regular girl that has nothing good about her and-ˮ

"Shut up with that mess already." Neji demanded. She fallowed and stopped then waited patiently for him to speak again. "Tenten…look. What I see is a beautiful if not undyingly cute girl standing, naked, in front of me. Her cheeks are the perfect shade of red. Her eyes are the warmest chocolate brown I have ever seen. Her face is so small that I couldn't control myself when I saw it, and I just had to have it. I had to see ever expression she ever made, so I took my chance and took her in. After that I saw more, and I liked what I saw." He stopped just short of his own words and stared at her once again earning a pleasing blush. Another smile spread across his face as she allowed his hands to slide from her face to her chest, cupping each one passionately in each hand.

"She had the softest chest." He moved them again. "The smoothest stomach." She flinched as he played with her belly button carefully with one finger, "and the cutest belly button." He laughed. "A perfect waist, nice ass." He laughed again realizing that he was no longer acting like himself with all the words he's saying and more importantly who he's saying them too. She really intrigued him and he had no clue why. "And," he continued after regaining his control and successfully placing his Hyuuga brand expression on, "the nicest-"

"Hm!" Tenten suddenly moaned. Her face flushed wilder then it did before as he played with her, once again, but this time with more feeling added to it. Neji let out a deep sensation filled laugh, but he never once thought about stopping. His fingers toyed with her, enjoying the arousal he got from her arousal. What was it about her that made him want her more then he should? He himself wanted to find out, but at that moment, with her bare to the bone and pressed against him, he didn't care. He just wanted her and her body. He wanted to hear her moan again and again till she went hoarse. He wanted to her his name coming out of her, strained from her taking in breath after breath after breath because of his constant probing. He wanted to see her blush because of him, he wanted to search her body for her spot, he wanted to be near her one more time…before they never saw each other again.

His lips meet the base of her neck softly. A slight whimper of pleasure managed to escape his mouth sending chills down her spine. She sighed. The thrill was taking over.

"Ten." He began, still kissing her neck without any intention to stop unless he was told to do so. "One more. Just one more time and you'll never heave to hear from me again. Honestly I feel so…so desperate around you. It's like you're emitting off some hormone that won't let me leave you alone, and…mmm…you're so addicting." He breathed in her scent. His shampoo and her natural perfume fumed around him making him want more and more with every passing moment.

"Ne-ˮ she stopped half way when his lips met hers and allowed a smooth tempting groan to swim out of her mouth and into his, making him react the same way towards her. She could feel him turn her around till she they were face to face, chest to chest. His hands slid past her waist to her butt and gripped it tightly. She gasped at this but in a satisfying way and continued to kiss him. Before she knew it she was once again pinned to his bed with her arms way above her head and her legs spread open for him to enter.

_Just one more time wouldn't hurt right? _Tenten thought as he let her go to continue what he started back at the mirror. She breathed in harshly signaling her stimulation towards him making him go on harder than before._ Besides, it's just like he said before. I'll never see him again. We both agreed to that, ne?_

Tenten squealed in a strange manner. She covered her mouth a little too late for her own good. Neji, who heard this sound, enjoyed it and continued to kiss her where she first made that sound till she couldn't hold it in any longer and made it again and again in his presence.

Another smile broadened his face as he pushed her past her limits, making her take it all on, not allowing her to break until he was ready, something she was strangely found of and enjoyed painfully. Sweat covered both of their faces. Heavy breathing escaped both mouths and ravished sounds came from both sides as sprawling hands reach for better places to hold on to, places that wouldn't come loose from under them or crush when seized to hard, while all the while they danced, once again their erotic dance, with the sheets as their clothing and the bed as their stage. But this time, they danced harder, faster; better, more in sync…they danced like professionals, professionals that have danced together for many years and years to come. They danced like a team both wanting to reach the top once again through their lust filled touches and stimulated movements of desire.

_**Later that day at her job:**_

"Tenten, there you are, honey!" a very familiar voice chimed at her as she practically sprinted past all others to get to her desk.

She looked at the taller woman who was, and would always hover over her work space with an even taller man standing next to her.

"Hey Ikuya, Essence."

"Tenten, hon." Essence dolled, "Why were you so late today? You're hardly ever this late. Did something happen?"

"N-no nothing. I know I'm late and all, but that doesn't mean anything specific happened. I just over slept."

"This late! That's rare."

"Humph." Ikuya added. "Yeah she over slept, with some other 'I over slept' fool."

"Ikuya-chan!" Essence squealed after hitting her friend on the arm. The boy just sat there smiling at his own joke. But Tenten didn't laugh. In fact she didn't even reject the idea. She just sat her bag down.

"Tenten you didn't!" Essence yelled almost too loud for her own good.

"No!"

"Then what took you so long to-ˮ Ikuya stopped and stared at the thing they were now staring at. He, Tenten and Essence each had their eyes locked on something. Tenten at the red wine spill. Essence at the floor and Ikuya at the tux top.

"Tenten what is that?"

"N-no"

"Hey Ten, this note fell from your bag."

"N-no"

"What does it say, Essence darling."

" No."

"Hold on let me read it."

" No!" Tenten suddenly yelled as she snatched the note from Essence. " Don't read that!"

"…Well…"

"Tenten whose is this?"

She ignored the then franticly opened the note and read it:

_Dear Tenten,_

_Did you think I would forget? How could I forget how we first meet? That would be rude of me. Any ways, here's my suit that you soiled. You did say that you could fix it, right? Here's the address and my number for when you're all done with that. Can't wait till I see you again, Tenten. 3 _

Tenten sat there, frozen in time by the audacity of this guy. _Neji that stupid idiot. Is he trying to ruin my peace? What does he want from me?_

"Tenten, is that what I think it is?"

"Whose is this? It's obviously not a woman's suit so does that mean-ˮ

"_Scandalous!_" Essence squealed. Tenten however, found nothing exciting about her situation.

"S-stupid, Neji." She whispered.

"Eh? What was that, Tenten, hon? Whose name did you just say?"

_Neji._ She thought out of fear of being found out._ I'll get you for this!_

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><p><strong>Whoop, whoop! The fourth chapter is finally up people! Yay! Yay! Yay! Let's all cheer and jump for joy for my success! Naw I'm just joking with you, but seriously…I did it…it's up… now for some random stuff;<strong>

**Essence****- My OC and one of Tenten's worker friends. They only appear when I make her show up at work so they are not that important. Any ways, Essence is a westerner from the US who came to Japan because of a job trade…thingy… and that's how she got there. She has blonde hair and blue eyes…and she's loud…that's all you need to know really.**

**Ikuya****- he's another one of my OC's and the other worker friend of Tenten. He's gay because hey, every girl needs a gay friend because they understand us perfectly and we can relate so yeah gotta love Ikuya. He has black hair and brown eyes…but he's this hunk that people wonder why he ever turned gay…still…gotta love Ikuya. **


	5. We Meet Again

**Disclaimer: I don't Naruto.**

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><p><strong>AN: yeah I'm dumb I just now realized that Neji's attitude is off…but, my readers seemed to like it so bah I'm good. Oh and sorry for the late updates…yeah basketball came up…and school summer reading…and my but head of a brother…but anyways, enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 5: We Meet Again<p>

Tenten's face stayed flushed that day. All day long her so called "friends" kept teasing her about the jacket and note that they never got to see, all day long till her lunch break. They kept asking her about whose it was, and playing games by guessing random names to see which one she would react to in order to determine who he might be. She really never got any work done because of them. So when her lunch break came up, she never left the office so fast in her life, all the while with one person on mind. That devious grin that's hardly seen, the pale eyes that only she could see through, and the pale skin that was cold to the touch even. Neji.

"Ma'am here's your jacket." A rather girly voice echoed behind her. Tenten turned quickly and met face to face with a rather girly looking man, equipped with the eye shadow and everything, smiling back at her.

"Thank you." she sighed taking the jacket from his hands.

"No thank you. It has been my pleasure to assist you in that…that…marvelous piece of work you hold in your hand right now."

Tenten stared at him bewildered by his statement, then at the jacket, then back at him just as confused as before. "What, you mean this thing?"

"Why yes! If I am correct then that is a tux from the Destiny clothing line. I am a big a fan of the work."

…_Destiny?_ Tenten thought as she looked back at the jacket before walking out with it in her hands. _Is that some kind of famous line or something? How come I never heard of it? Oh yeah…lack of interest in clothing. Right. Well I might as well give this to him now…along with a piece of my mind. Neji you jerk. You'll pay for this!_

_**Later that day at Neji's shop:**_

"Neji sama!" a small girl blushed his way when he put his hand around her waist. But he just stared back at her confused much to her disbelief. "w-what are you doing?"-(1)-

"Hm?" he questioned, not wanting to talk to her.

"He was catching you, Meme- chan. You were falling over on him while explaining your work." Lee giggled. "Did you take your pill today, Meme chan?"

The girl looked down. Her cheeks flushed a wild color of red before she regained her consciousness and reappeared as her normal self in front of the two. "No. Sorry, Lee san. I seemed to have forgotten about it again." She faced Neji with an expectant smile. For a split second, amusement shinned in his eyes, but she failed to notice it, much like everyone else around him. "W-well then, like I was saying before, I thought that this color would be nice for the dress, ne, Neji sama?"

"Hn." Was his only comment, but his eyes were attentively looking at the dress in progress that one of his "students" were attending to. It was a simple design that anyone could wear be it a child, teen or an adult they could all manage with it. He would have gone for a more grown approach. But this was her "homework" and he couldn't change anything to it.

"W-well." She stuttered.

Neji, who didn't hear her from behind the dress, simply looked up minutes after then walked off without saying another word. But a small smirk was left on his face from seeing her work, a sign of approval.

"I don't think Neji sama even notices me." Meme concerned as one of her friends walked up to see what all the earlier commotion was about.

"Don't be ridiculous." The other girl laughed. "I would be surprised if he didn't like you. I mean out of all of us here, I have to say that you happen to be one of his favorites." -(2)-

"Really?"

"Of course." A boy with short black hair tied up in the back added. "He pays the most attention to you and your work. I could even see you two together at one point. I mean he looks like the type of guy that looks good beside you."-(3)-

"Yuuya's right, Meme. Out of all of us, I have to say that when he gets to you, he looks more relaxed, like there's something about you that just soothes him and eases away his pain or something. To tell you the truth…I'm a little jealous of you for that."

Meme smiled at her friends comments then turned and continued to finish what was left on her dress.

"Well…?" The girl questioned. Meme looked up. Her confused face slightly blushing still from the previous touch of her sensei. "Aren't you going to make your move, Meme chan?"

"Eh? Kanae, what are you-ˮ

"She means are you going to start flirting with him. You know to give him a heads up that you like him too." Yuuya interrupted, finally getting annoyed with the girl's slowness.

Meme blushed again. Her friends were right though. If she doesn't do it now, someone else might steel him right from under her nose. So she stood with her fists clinging to her torn works shirt and faced him, Neji, with anticipation broiling up inside of her. She stepped closer then stopped, then walked back again, unsure if she should take the chance then stepped closer again after fighting with herself. When a sudden flash ran past her and practically jumped out at an unsuspecting Neji, pinning him to a wall.

"Neji you idiot!" the small flash yelled, her panda like buns bouncing in return of the anger bubbling off of her skin like a witches broth. "Why would you do something so stupid, so idiotic, so…so…DUMB? I almost got caught, baka!"

"Tenten." Neji cooed, a small smirk appearing on his face as he grabbed her hands with his. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do!"

"No I don't."

"Ye-ˮ

She stopped as she stared down at him, rather than up. "I'm so sorry for this." Lee's voice came. "But I cannot allow you to hurt him, you see. He's a very important person and all so please restrain from injuring him."

"P-ˮ Tenten began while kicking and flailing her feet. "Put me down! Put me down! I don't like to be confined!"

"Hm?" Neji smiled from under her, studying her small frame physique in his friends hands. "Cause I thought based on l-"

"Urusai!" Tenten yelped.

"Will you calm down?"

"H-hai."

Neji smirked then signaled for his friend to put her back on her feet._ I never thought she would come at me like that. Hah! This girl sure is amusing. I can't believe she personally came, either. She could have just told someone else to come instead._

"Now," Neji began after mentally labeling her as a slow thinker, "What can I do for you, Tenten."

"Here" she growled, handing him the, clean, tux jacket. "I cleaned it, there, you happy now. Now stop bothering me, will you?"

Neji took the jacket, but didn't answer her question, figuring that it was rhetorical. His eyes seemed to be examining his once ruined jacket, searching almost desperately for a mistake he could use against her just so he could see her angered face, the face he took most interest in, but the jacket was spotless. It even looked brand new, like it has never been worn before. "Hn." He sounded in displeasure.

"Destiny." Tenten uttered, catching Neji's attention. "Are you familiar with that name, Neji?"

"Very." Neji blinked in disbelief that later turned into some weird type of interest. "That's my clothing line, Tenten."

"Eh?" Tenten chirped. "W-why didn't you tell me that, baka! Do you know how stupid I just sounded?"

"Very." Neji laughed, finally letting go and pouring every happy emotion out through it.

Meme, who was tossed aside as soon as Tenten entered, was stuck standing there mesmerized by their conversation. But she wasn't the only one. The whole "class", as Neji calls them, were lost in their argument, trapped in between the random girl's flustered face and Neji's smiling one.

"N-Neji sama?" Meme whispered as she stared at the two.

"Wow." Kanae mused. "And I thought he was relaxed around you, Meme."

"Yeah" Yuuya included. "Talk about proving someone wrong. Looks like you got some competition, Meme."

_**Minutes later, in Neji's office:**_

"You didn't have to go barging in like that." Neji smiled.

"Yeah, well you didn't have to go and sneak your things in my bag while I was in the shower like that either. But you don't see me complaining."

"How are you so sure that I put it in there while you were showering. Maybe I did it last night after we-ˮ

"Just stop right there, please, Neji. I'm honestly trying to forget that."

"Hm?" Neji asked a since of hurt coming out with the question.

"Well, it's just that, that was originally supposed to be a onetime thing and then we were to never see each other again, but here we are…seeing each other…again."

Neji laughed a relieved laugh then stared into her chocolate eyes. "You're saying that like it's a bad thing."

"Well in terms of a one-night-stand it is!"

"What if I didn't want it to end with us as a one-night-stand thing?"

Tenten blushed slightly before asking her next question. "W-what do you want us to be then?"

"…Hn."

Tenten growled, knowing exactly what the "Hn" meant, she stood and headed to the door, anger fuming of f of her in galoshes of some strange black substance.

"Tenten." He stopped her all too soon, and she turned, hiding her anger behind a fake smile. "You said that you and a friend were arguing, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Tenten flushed, surprised that he remembered such a thing.

"Here" Neji alleged, "If apologizing doesn't work as well as you had hoped, then give them this."

Tenten toke the small card he held in his hand then examined it carefully, constantly flipping it over on either side as if something new would appear if she did it enough times. "What good is an 80% off card at Fashion Assassin's going to do?"-(4)-

"To you, nothing, since you don't seem to care all too well about fashion, but to your little friend, it might make a bigger difference. I assume she's the type that actually pays attention to stuff like that."

"Yeah" she mumbled still flipping the card over, "but that doesn't mean that she'll like it."

"If she does then you owe me." Neji jeered.

"Fine!" Tenten sassed back too quick for her own good. "I bet she won't then."

"And I bet she will."

"Shake on it?" Tenten clucked a sign of her confidence. Neji just smiled at her before actually grabbing her hand, sending stimulated nerves on end from her touch through his whole body.

"It's a deal then."

He knew exactly what he wanted from her _when_ he won.

_**Later at her usual spot:**_

"T-Tenten sure is taking a while, ne?" Hinata practically cried.

"She probably chickened out or something. Thinking that I would try something on her, maybe?" Ino sassed as she stuffed a low fat brownie in her mouth no longer caring where it might end up in her body.

"Ino." Temari argued. "Didn't we already discuss this? You know just as well as I know that Tenten felt horrible after saying that and that that was the reason for her running away."

"I know, Temari." Ino yelled. "I'm still just angry about her saying it though.

"I imagine she bottled up all her anger and stress from the very beginning and that your last comment was the cherry on top." Sakura chimed, not really wanting a reaction to her statement but wanting to put it out there.

"T-that does sound like something she would do." Hinata whined.

"So you're saying I have bad timing."

"Pretty much."

"Well, Sakura, excuse me for wanting to speak my mind."

"Well you could have said it calmer than that. Then she wouldn't have taking it the wrong way."

" you know what, I'm about tired of-ˮ

"Shh!" Temari interrupted. "Here she comes now."

Tenten stopped short of the table after realizing that all eyes were on her, Ino's especially. She gulped then gripped the card in her hand. _Let's hope this works._

"Hey, Tennie." Temari called, "That's a cute outfit you got there. Never seen you wear it before. Where did you get it?" –(5)-

"In the back of my closet. You know me." Tenten nervously laughed. Her focus never once left Ino. "So Ino." She began. "About yesterday. I'm really sorry for what I said. It's just that I was extremely stressed out because of past things coming up and biting me in the butt and all so my freaking out over your small words was a cause of it all."

"Told you so." Sakura whispered to Ino.

"It's no problem really. I'm just glad that we're okay now." Ino explained feeling a little relieved that what Sakura said earlier was right.

"Let me make it up to you." Tenten fretted.

"No, no. it's okay really. I'm fine."

"Here!" Tenten blurted as she shoved the card into her friends face. "Please accept this as a token of my gratitude and as an apology."

"Tenten I really don't…wait…is that an 80% off card for Fashion Assassin's! Those are like, really hard to come upon. How did you get this?"

Tenten blinked at her more than delighted friend then at Hinata who seemed just as curious as Ino. "U-um a friend gave it to me."_ I'm technically not lying._

"What friend in their right mind would go and give up one of these?" Sakura shouted in disbelief.

"A friend whose just as enthusiastic about getting me to see fashion a s a thing as you two." _Okay…that one was a lie._

"But-ˮ

"  
>Who care's Sakura!" Ino cheered. "All that matters is that we have the card and right after lunch, we're going shopping!"<p>

"I have work still."

"Then after Tenten' gets off of work, we're going shopping!"

Tenten smiled. Seeing her friend happy was the best thing that happened to her that whole day._ Maybe he was right. I guess fashion can work its wonders as well…doesn't mean I'm going to admit to it. It has to do a whole lot more than just make her smile in order for me to admit that!_

_**Later, that day at the mall:**_

Tenten watched as her two shopaholic friends danced around from shop to shop, never leaving one of them without at least one bag in their hand or in one of the other, less shopaholic, girl's hands. They had left Fashion Assassin hours ago and turned the whole mall upside down afterwards shopping for things to add in their closet, things that they would and could only wear once every special occasion and things that they would wear inside the house but never outside when it was meant for that. Things like that normally annoyed Tenten, but this time, she was more than excited to join them and occasionally pick up items of her interest, for Ino's sake at least. The shopping part at Fashion Assassin is what caused the smile and the laughter and the happiness, and, even though she hated shopping, she enjoyed every bit of it.

That's when her phone rang, ruining her happiness once she saw the caller ID.

"What?"

"That was rather mean of you to say. I hope that's not the regular way you answer your phone."

"What do you want now, Neji?"

"Betsu ni."

"Then I'm hanging up."

"Tenten wait."He laughed on the other end. "I did call for something. One of them was to see if you saved my number when I gave it to you. The other was to see about our bet. Know I know I got one of them right, so…how's your friend? Is she happier with the card?"

"How do you know I saved your number?"

"Well, unless you always answer the phone with a 'what', I'm assuming that you saw my name on the caller Id and got angered, no?"

"…"

"Hn, and more importantly, what about our bet, Tenten?"

"…"

"Should I take that as a sign of loosing?"

"…U-urusai…fine…where do you want to meet?" Tenten asked, sounding similar to a street whore with a cell.

"Oh, no that won't do." Neji teased. "don't worry, Ten. I'll call you when I'm ready, okay? Right now I have a designs to attend to, so I'll talk to you then."

"Whatever." She sighed. "And don't go around acting like you're my pimp. Cause I am not your whore, got that?"

"Hn."

He hung up, and though Tenten couldn't see it, she still knew he had that irritating smile on his smug face. It was that smile that she could never forget. That smile she didn't want to forget.

"Temari!" Ino's loud voice came, snapping Tenten out of her trance. "Whose this?"

Tenten, whose curiosity spiked after hearing the question, quickly looked up at the new character who was carrying all of Temari's bags. His hair resembled the style of the famous idol Kiba just slightly stiffer and his dark eyes practically swam with clear interest as he stared back at Tenten. A small blush covered both of their faces.

"Guy's I'd like you to meet Kankuro, my eldest little brother."

"Hi." He croaked, talking mainly to Tenten.

"Hey." She meekly answered back.

"I know. well, not because I like knew you before or anything like that…it's just…you know…Te-Temari told me…I mean us…her friends…that already…yeah…I-I'm um…I'm Tenten."

Kankuro smiled a genuine smile, and Tenten eagerly smiled back all the while ignorant of her hectic friends eyeing them both down.

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><p><strong>Oh knows! Looks like Neji has some competition. And like I said in the author's note earlier, I am so sorry for the late updates and all. A lot of stuff is going on, good stuff though. Sorry if it sounds a little boring, but there really isn't any erotic stuff in this chapter. I'm not that twisted for a 16 year old.<strong>

**-(1)- that's another OC of mine that only shows up occasionally at Neji's shop. He's normally always there but more for a hang out than anything else. He does his real work at home. But anyways, Meme is like this timid girl…sort of like Hinata but smaller and younger…and smaller. She envies Tenten but at the same time respects her as a fellow small girl.**

**-(2)- Meme's friend, Kanae. Her attitude resembles Ino's.**

**-(3)- Yuuya's not really Meme or Kanae's friend, he's just the one that always butts in because his work station's right there and all the other people he talks to are way on the other end and he's all lazy so yeah.**

**-(4)- sorry about the corny sounding name but I just had to add that there. It rhymes! What more could you want in a fashion store…well…besides fashion and all, but still!**

**-(5)- Tennie is a nickname given to Tenten by Temari. She uses it whenever she's trying to calm her down or assure her. Later on, Sakura and Ino pick up on it too.**

**Well that's all folks! Now remember to review.**

**ᴋᴲᴎᴑᴛᴈ ᴀ.ᴋ.ᴀ. ᴋᴉᴒԋᴑ is out. Peace!**

**(Keynote A.K.A Kicho)**

**P.S. I am not a KankuroXxXTenten believer nor will I ever be. I am a full time NejiXxXTenten believer and it killed me a little inside when I came to this part of the story…THE END **


	6. Ring Ring

**Disclaimer…owning Naruto…I FAIL…owning story with Naruto characters in them…EPIC…ish…**

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><p><strong>AN: DON'T KILL ME! …that's just a warning…I'll be saying it again later…**

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><p>Chapter 6: Ring Ring<p>

"Look at them." Temari confided as she and the others sat and watched from a distance the two giggling adults enjoying a meal together, laughing and talking the way they did in their adolescence years. "I've never seen anyone click with Kankuro like that, and the same goes for Ten."

"It's like they were made for each other." Ino cheered alongside Sakura.

"…I don't know about that," Hinata added, "But I am sure that they both have mutual feelings for one another. Just not so much love, though."

"Are you kidding me, Hinata?" Sakura yelled. "Those two defiantly have sparks flying. I can feel them from this far away! It's love! Love, I tell you!"

"N-no I don't think that-ˮ

"Hinata," Ino interrupted, "Poor defenseless Hinata. Can't you see? The sparks between those two are flying sky high, baby! What other feeling could there be to make that happen?"

"W-well there is a strong liking, or possible understanding. Those two could just be alike in a lot of ways and that's why the supposed `Sparks of Love' you two are seeing, could be mistaken as real love, when it's simply similarity."

"So logical. Honestly, you couldn't be happy for her just this once, Hinata?"

"Oh no, I'm very happy for Tenten. It's just I don't quiet think that it's love, but more of friendship from a mutual understanding between the two. I just really think those two aren't at that stage on the relationship level to be considered lovers, let alone friends."

"What a load of bologna!" Sakura yelled.-(1)-

"No, no, I have to agree with Hinata on this one. Those two don't know each other enough to be in love with one another, and besides, you two know just as well as Hinata and I do, that Tenten is a non believer in love at first sight. Though she enjoys the thought and idea of it, she still believes that it will never happen outside of manga."

"…I guess." Ino whined. Her eyes still focused on the chattering love-birds-to-be, waiting for the opportunity to strike, waiting for him to mouth the question she has been dying to see coming from a male towards her female friend. Alongside her, Sakura waited rather impatiently, squeezing the innards out of the strawberry cheesecake crepe she previously ordered, and bouncing in her chair wanting to scream as she bit her lip to keep it all down.

Temari and Hinata were the exact opposite. Temari sat quietly in her seat with her back facing the "couple" while Hinata, whose banana cream crepe was still perfectly intact, with a few tiny bight marks here and there, did the same, but out of common courtesy instead if disgust, which was Temari's reason.

"So," Kankuro began, "Your friends, they sure are some characters."

"Un. I personally like your sister and Hinata better, but the other two are pretty cool too."

He laughed and Tenten smiled in response. It was the only thing she felt she could do. _I have never felt this good around a guy before. He's easy to talk to, he's sweet and understanding and he's kind of cute._ Tenten blushed then looked back at the chocolate cheesecake crepe Kankuro bought. _I wonder…does he feel this way about me?_

"Tenten chan." Kankuro questioned. "I was wondering if you were busy this Saturday."

"This Saturday I have work, but I'm free Sunday."

"Oh, cool. Then how about I take you for dinner, maybe."

"Sure," Tenten blushed, "I'd love to."

Kankuro smiled. "So I'll pick you up at 7."

"Yeah."

"Then it's a date."

Tenten smiled again then turned to finish her crepe before her increasing blush was found out and to avoid the charisma given off from his dark eyes.

"Yo, Kankuro." Temari growled. "If you're quite done hitting on my friend, I need you to carry the rest of my stuff while I go shopping for Gaara, and while you're at it, how about holding everyone else's bags as well."-(2)-

"Eh! But I can barely get by with yours let alone hers." he gestured towards Ino's mountain of bags. "What makes you think that I can hold all of them?"

"That's the price you pay for flirting with my best friend, baka. Now let's go. Gaara's new outfits are waiting!"

"Humph." He mumbled while going around, getting the other bags. "She never buy's me anything new. It's always Gaara this and Gaara that, humph. This is so unfair." He stopped once he reached Tenten who was abruptly hiding her bag rather than shoving it down his throat much like the others.

"It's okay. I can carry my bag. Besides, you seem to have plenty of trouble handling Ino and Sakura's bags alone, so I can handle mine." She smiled

Kankuro smiled back. "Thanks."

"…I told you two." Ino bragged from a distance with Temari, Sakura and Hinata. "Since when has she ever been so kind to a boy she just meet?"

"Never!" Sakura answered.

"Whatever…" Temari complained as she watched the two who somehow managed to get alone once again.

"I-I'm still sticking to my reason."

"Ditto."

"…Now," Sakura chimed. "Should someone tell her that her phone is ringing?"-(3)-

"No way." Ino answered. "Besides, isn't that her unwanted call sound? If it mattered, she would have answered by now, or at least heard it so it's no big deal. Let's just let those two have their peace."

"Yeah," Temari barked. "While his last that is. Kankuro hurry it up! I don't have all day!"

"I'm coming, geeze!"

_**Back at the shop:**_

Neji sat in his chair annoyed at what he heard on the other line. Every time it was the same thing.

"_Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message. XXX-XXX-XXXX is not available. At the tone, please record your message. When you are finish recording you may-_"

"Shit!" Neji hung up for what might have been the hundredth time then stared at the phone he threw on his desk. "Why the hell isn't she answering? She did not too long ago. Damn it all! This could have been really important, Tenten!"

"Maybe she's doing something that requires her to be too busy to answer the phone, Neji." Lee confirmed.

Neji growled then stood and headed towards the door. His head hung low mainly out of furry with the small girl. _Is this what I deserve? Just because I teased her here and there doesn't mean I should be treated like this. I bet she's purposely ignoring my calls._

"There's no way she's ignoring your call, Neji. The phone rings too long." Lee informed.

…_What the hell…did he just read my mind?_ "Fine, fine, I'll just call here again and find out."

"…DUUU..._Your call has been forwarded to an auto-_ˮ

"Okay that one was on purpose!"

Lee laughed nervously by his boss/friends side unsure of what else to say. "Neji, what is it that makes Tenten picking up the phone so important anyways?"

Neji looked at him then sighed before heading back to his desk and flopping down in it. "My uncle wants Hinata, Hanabi and I to come to this tiresome ball for Hyuuga's only. And he wants us to bring a date, and as far as I'm concerned, Tenten is the only person I know that wouldn't go crazy from going to a ball with me. Hell, she'd probably hate the idea all together, but she owes me one so she has no choice."

"Oh…so…who will you bring."

"…I don't know now." He groaned as he looked through his addresses eyeing down each one but passing them as he went on. Then he stopped. One number caught his attention, one number made him stop and shudder in disgust.

_Kin._ He thought as he pressed the dial button.

_**Back with Tenten:**_

It had to be her brightest smile that day. It was so bright, everyone else noticed it, especially Temari and the others that were bundled together and labeled a third wheel.

"So here's my contact." Tenten smiled.

Kankuro smiled back then took it with what little effort he could manage what with all of Temari and Gaara's belongings on his back. "Thanks. I'll call later on for that recipe, okay."

"Hai!"

"Un. Well, I guess I'll talk to you then, Tenten."

"Hai. Bye, Kankuro." She blushed before sliding in to the safety of her home.

She sighed once in then quickly rummaged through her bag to find her phone before dialing the number in only to hang up after the first sound. _No need to worry, Tenten._ She thought. _He'll call, and just because you got someone to talk to you doesn't mean you have to go bragging about it to him. So why don't you just put the phone down and…watch some TV. Yeah. That should get your mind off of him…and him…maybe I'll just call him once. If he doesn't pick up, then he didn't pick up._

"…DUU…DUU…DUU…Hello?"

"Neji, hey it's Tenten I-ˮ

"Oh hey. What did you want, again?"

"…Um, that's what I was trying to tell you before you-"

"Oh, hold on, hold on…I have something important to tell you…"

"Really! What, Neji!" she yelled, beginning to sound annoyed.

"This is my voice mail. Sorry I couldn't get to you, must mean I'm busy…so um…leave a message after the beep."

"…"

"…BEEP…"

"…Neji…I'm going to kill you for that, and never mind. I forgot what I was going to say now so bye you idiot!"

She hung up, more angered and annoyed then she was before she knew she was calling him, but even then, she still couldn't find the time to hate him.

_Neji._

Tenten sighed again and lay back on the love chair with her eyes staring at the ceilings searching for random figures on the wall and moving her hands up to her chest while a wild blush covered her face. She could feel the warmth of the red blemishes through the soft fabric and hear the pulses coming from them as if they held their own heartbeat. Before she knew it, she was unbuttoning her shirt, dying to get at them, those markings that never seemed to vanish. The sign that she was no longer a virgin, no longer purer hearted…and most importantly, no longer alone. His mark was what that was. Neji's and no others.

_How am I going to explain this to Kankuro when he sees it…or…if he sees it?_ She got up and headed to her room, to the very back, towards the dresser, in the third drawer hidden under all her muscle shirts and baby tee's and pulled out a small frilly pink bag. She gulped before opening it and removing the contents one by one. Eyeliner, unused, blush, also unused, lipstick, still brand new, eye shadow, untouched till now, lip sheen, never knew what it was so it's still wrapped in plastic like the lipstick, and foundation, similar situation to the others. She was eyeing the foundation.

_Temari said it could hide pimples and black heads…so shouldn't it be able to hide this._ Tenten signaled at her chest._ I mean, I can't wear cloths like this all the time. Sooner or later something's going to come up and I'm going to have to wear something that reviles the top of my breasts. Like at a party, hell even when I go to work out. No one can know about this…so using make up is just a cover up. I'll only do it this when needed.-(4)-_

She groaned then grabbed the little bottle. Her eyes twitched recklessly back and forth from every corner in the room…before she opened the container.

_**Later that night:**_

"…Neji…I'm going to kill you for that, and never mind. I forgot what I was going to say now so bye you idiot!"

Neji just stood there with the phone slightly away from his ear and a confused look on his face.

"Baka." He complained. "Now you want to call back."

"NEJI SAMA!" a shrill voice came.

Neji turned and faced the dark haired girl that seemed out of place with the way she was acting around the rest of the Hyuuga's and their dates. "It's too late now, Tenten."

"What's too late?" the girl asked.

"Nothing, Kin. Just…enjoy the party I guess."

"Okay!" the girl chirped as she danced off in her designer made, at last minute, Destiny's dress.

Neji sighed for what felt like the thousandth time as he watch her and dealt with the whispered lies about him that came shortly after from all the other Hyuuga's whose dates weren't high off of cheese and whine and luxury.

"Neji-nii-san." A timid voice.

"Hello, Hinata." Neji sighed this time out of relief from hearing his favorite, or rather only considerable relative's voice. He grew so accustomed to it that he didn't have to turn to see that it was her, but he did anyways just to see her hyper rambunctious date.

"…Um…" Neji began after pulling Hinata to his side. "Who the hell are you?"

The, not Naruto, boy flashed a rather toothy smile at Neji before stepping closer. "So you're the famous Neji Hyuuga. The name's Inuzuka Kiba, the famous actor adored by all who encountered me."

"…Yeah…"

_Hinata!_ Neji thought. The girl beside him jumped from his glare but seemed to understand him all too well._ I thought you were going to ask Uzumaki._

_I was, and I did, but Naruto said Saskue needed him for something so he had to pass._

_Saskue couldn't let him go just this once._

_No. Saskue san even said he was sorry, but he couldn't let him go. There was nothing I could do._

_So how did he appear?_

_Y-you mean K-Kiba kun? Well when I asked Naruto, Saskue wasn't the only one there. Kiba and Shino were there too, they were talking to Naruto before both me and Saskue showed up. That's when he offered to go in his place and-_

_And you accepted!_

_D-do you have room to talk, Neji-nii-san. You brought Kin, and you already know she's only with you for your money._

_I wasn't originally going to bring her. Things just ended up like this._

"Then who were you going to bring?"

"T…why does it matter to you? You don't even know her!"-(5)-

"I'll never know for sure if you don't tell me."

"Hey!" Kiba yelled catching the attention of both Hyuuga's. "Were you two even listening to me?"

"N-ˮ

"OMG!" came an annoyingly familiar voice. "You're Kiba! Aren't you?" the fangirl questioned.

_I have never been so happy to see Kin before._

He looked down at Hinata's flustered face as she stared back at him. Even though she was embarrassed, she still never turned.

_We're not done yet, Neji-nii-san._

Neji smirked then walked off silently with his hands in his pockets while he let his "date" handle his problem, and even though he could clearly their mockery and their complaints he still walked on with his head held high.

_Baka…_

And his heart tucked low.

* * *

><p><strong>DON'T KILL ME! I AM STILL A NejiXxXTenten BELIVER SO THERE!<strong>

**said bo-log-na not bo-low-nee**

**, in this Fanfic, Gaara is the favorite of Temari…Kankuro annoys her, but she still loves him**

**that was Neji…the ringtone was Haters Got Me Wrong…if you don't know it the title is enough to understand why she didn't pick up.**

**4.I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT MAKEUP AND OERSONALY…I don't care**

**yes she does!**

**ᴋᴲᴎᴑᴛᴈ ᴀ.ᴋ.ᴀ. ᴋᴉᴒԋᴑ is out. Peace!**

**(Keynote A.K.A) Kicho**


	7. Jealousy a B

**Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own Naruto.**

**A/N: I still blame summer reading for this…**

Chapter 7: Jealousy's a B-

Tenten stood patiently outside the hotel on the account that they wouldn't let her in without a room pass, dressed in a red sheath dress that barely touched her knees and black red bottom heels, an outfit that Ino and Sakura forced her to wear for a party they were invited to. Her cheeks flushed a light red color from the makeup she was forced to wear and her lips shinned from the red lipstick she was dying to take off. For once, her hair was down in deep curls that touched her back delicately, and in her hands she gripped a small black handbag unsure of what to do with it without the straps attached.

She reached inside the small bag for the hundredth time and grabbed her phone and a small mirror. She checked the time, then her chest for any signs of the hickies showing up again, then hid them securely in the purse again. She seemed unfazed as she stood there, dress hugging her thighs, face seemingly older looking and breasts slightly lifted from the tight grip of the strapless dress. Even while people constantly kept approaching her, mainly men, asking her if she was waiting for a date or if she was alone tonight, she still never budged, swiftly giving nice rejections to every man that came to her. Her eyes appeared to be staring into the distance, locked on an upcoming object that she has yet to see. She reached in her bag again, pulling out her phone and checking the time. A low grumble left her mouth.

"Where the hell are you, baka?" She whispered softly. "I'll have to leave soon, and I don't think I can hold the taxi cab any longer."

Suddenly, the slamming of a car door echoed through the streets, catching her attention. She turned towards it with a smile as the long haired, white eyed boy walked towards her with his head low.

"Neji!" she chirped.

He looked up, distress dying the color of his eyes, and looked around at everyone but her.

"Over here you idiot!"

He reacted, staring at her confusingly till a surprised, yet delighted, look overcame all else. "Tenten?" he questioned.

She smiled as they both walked closer to each other. For once, she felt at ease in an outrageous outfit such as this, mainly because of Neji's reaction. She looked down at herself then at him and smiled. "What's up with the get up?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Neji laughed while taking his jacket top off. "Here, put this on, it's kind of cold out here." She did.

"So…" He began as he watched the small girl shift in his jacket looking like a small girl with or without the makeup. "Are you going to tell me what you're dressed like that for?"

"Only if you tell me why you're dressed like that." she teased, moving closer to him all attempts of flirting obviously showing.

"What are you doing?" He asked, noticing already her lame attempts at flirting but falling for them nonetheless. "Are you trying to flirt with me?"

She laughed a smooth laugh and pushed his chest teasingly without ever moving him, but left the question unanswered. "It's just that my friends said that with this look I could get any guy to break, so-ˮ

"You tried it out on me."

"Yup." She giggled.

Neji smiled again and moved closer to her, grabbing her by the waist, forcing her body to meet his. She moaned in displeasure and tried at pushing herself away but failed. Neji was too strong. "Why are you trying to leave?"

"Why are you trying to leave?"

"Because we're out in public, Neji! What if someone gets a picture of this! My peace will be over."

"Then shall we go inside." Neji cooed, kissing the base of her neck softly before sucking pleasurably.

"No, Neji, That's not why I came here."

"Really?" Neji puzzled, bringing his head back. "That's what I assumed you had came here like that."

"No. I came here like this cause my friends invited me to this party and they dressed me up like this before leaving me."

"Oh." Neji sighed, loosening his grip around her.

"So," She began. "I told you, now you gotta tell me."

He sighed before letting go of her. "I don't think that you'll like the answer."

"Tell me anyways." Tenten beamed.

Neji sighed again before looking around, scanning the area. "Okay," he sighed. "Yesterday…me and this girl went to this party thing and-ˮ

"What girl?"

"Kin. Anyways, we went to this party last night and-ˮ

"Wait, Kin? That bitch from the first time I met you? That Kin?"

"This is why I didn't want to tell you T-ˮ

"And what did you and Kin do last night Neji?" Tenten questioned loudly.

"Tenten, please, not that loud." Neji shushed her.

"No!" she screamed. "I can't believe you're that much of a man whore, Neji."

"Why the hell does it matter to you, Tenten? Remember, it was just a one night stand kind of thing. We'll never see each other again. It doesn't mean anything! Do you remember that?"

She said nothing. She just stared at him. "You know what, your right." She yelled. "It doesn't matter to me."

"Tenten, I didn't mean it like-ˮ

"And take your stupid jacket back!" she shrieked, throwing the thing at him franticly. "I don't need it. I don't need anything from you, Neji!"

"Well none of this would have never happened if you had just answered the damn phone when I -ˮ

"Its worse enough that you slept with me for the hell of it, but you also go around sleeping with sluts that obviously only want you for the money! For people you know that are just waiting for you to slip up so that they can steal everything from you! I mean, Kin, really! Out of all the people in the world, she has to be the worst case of the fame syndrome!"

Neji said nothing. He just watched her fume, listened to her scream at the top of her lungs, and tried his hardest to ignore the fact that other celebrities were now watching and worrying about her and him. His anger rose higher and higher with every word she uttered out of her mouth. All sight of the previous glee felt emotions vanished and were replaced by anger and frustration. He couldn't do anything, all he could do was wait for her to finish.

"-can't even believe you would do something so stupid, so idiotic, so…so…meaningless! I swear, I wish I never meet you! I mean, if I had meet Kankuro on that night instead of you then-ˮ

"Whoa, whoa wait. Who's Kankuro?"

"…Just a person I met recently."

"Oh! So you have the nerve to fight with me about some trivial shit, but you FAIL to take the time to mention your own flaws! Yet you have the audacity-ˮ He stopped and stared at Tenten's innocent look…and hated it. Half of his mind told him to rip it off; the other half told him to embrace it. He couldn't decide.

_She really pisses me off!_ He thought._ How in hells name came she get me this worked up over something so inconsequential! And then she has the nerve to pull this shit on me! She even has me cursing! Hardly anyone can get me to curse out loud! What is it with this chick that gets me…excited…?_

"Okay, listen." Neji cooed after calming down. Surprisingly enough, Tenten didn't say anything. She just stared at him. "You're obviously on your period, or something, and that's why you're getting mad over something like this. So I have a theory. We take this upstairs, we talk it out UP THERE where no one can use this against us then we just let bygones be bygones. How does that sound?"

"Though your offer sounds like a trap yet at the same time a good idea," Tenten sighed, "I'm going to have to turn you down on that one."

"Why?"Neji yelled.

"One: I'm not on my period. Two: I have a really important party to attend to, and Three: I really don't think being in the same room with you is a good idea right now."

"I promise I won't do anything and the issue with your friends, you can call and tell them that you'll be a little late."

"Sorry Neji. No can do."

"Well what about…we sound so bipolar right now."

"Where did that come from?" Tenten laughed, playfully hitting Neji's chest, once again, causing no damage. "But I guess that is true."

Neji laughed._ How does she do this to me? Does she have some special type of Neji attractant hiding somewhere on her body?_

He sighed. "Look, Ten, I'm sorry about everything, does that make you better? I promise to never see Kin again. Is that okay?"

"…Yeah." Tenten smiled as she slowly walked backwards toward the Taxi that was still waiting. "See you later, Neji."

"You're still going to leave me. Even after all of that. Why did you come here in the first place?"

"Oh!" she remembered. "I wanted to tell you in person."

"Tell me what?" he asked.

"I have a date. So ha! I am not your friend with benefits."

"…What?"

"By, Neji!" Tenten laughed as the car drove off.

_A date?_ He thought _Then why the hell did you get mad at me? Ugh! I don't understand that girl! _

_**At the party:**_

"There you are, Tenten!" Sakura cheered.

"I was so right about that dress that it kills me!" Ino's voice suddenly chimed from behind her. "If this dress doesn't get men running up to you, then I don't know what will."

"Please," Tenten moaned. "I had problems trying to find out how to get in and out of the taxi cab and I had a good 5 random men approach me on my way up here. There better be something good in this party for me, Ino, or I will never listen to you when the word party comes from your mouth. Ever!"

"Don't worry girlie. With this look and that body in that dress, you'll get something you'll enjoy."

"Like a date." Sakura giggled.

"She doesn't need that." Temari fumed. "She already has one."

"No way, with who?" Sakura questioned.

"Me." A deep voice came making all girls, except Temari, turn.

A familiar boy approached them. His hair, instead of spiked, was combed back in a neat style fitting to the type of party, his shoulders, broad and elegant, brimmed in the black suit he wore and his smile gleamed brighter than any other smile ever seen. Dark eyes stared into the group, locking dead on the smallest girl making the smile grow wider. "Tenten." The voice greeted.

"Kankuro." She answered back with a wild blush to add to it. "I didn't think I would see you here."

"On any other normal situation, he wouldn't have been able to even think about being here." Temari snapped. "But since I had to go running my damn mouth, and told him that you were going to be there in some outfit Ino and Sakura forced you to wear, he wouldn't stop begging, and I do mean begging, me to take him with me as a guest. Now I did everything in my right mind to keep him at home, but he was so damn persistent on seeing you, Tenten! So as of right now, I'm blaming you for why I have to baby sit, and for why I had to waste my time doing his hair, and for giving him the right mind to wear one of his home-made freaking suits! Thanks, Tenten! Thanks!"

"Oh, you made this suit?"

"THAT WAS NOT THE REATION I WAS WANTING!"

"Yeah. You know, I'm currently working on being a successful designer."

"YEAH, AFTER SPENDING 4 YEARS OUT OF DESIGNER'S SCHOOL!"

"Oh, you mean like Neji Hyuuga with his line, Destiny."

"DESTINY? HA! HE WISHES TO BE THAT SUCCESFUL!"

"Yeah, sort of. Hey, wanna go over there to talk, it's kind of noisy over here."

"DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME!"

"Yeah sure."

"ALRIGHT FINE! SEE IF I CARE! THIS IS THE EXACT REASON WHY GARRA IS MY FAVORITE AND NOT YOU! YOU STOLE MY BEST FRIEND, KANKURO! YOU STOLE YOUR NEE-CHAN'S BEST FUKING FRIEND! HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY NOW!"

"Temari, please, you're being too loud."

"USELESS PIECE OF TRASH!"

"Temari!"

"WHY CANT YOU JUST BE MORE LIKE GAARA AND HAVE LESS INTREST IN MY FRIENDS?"

"Ugh. Where's Hinata, I can't deal with this?"

"YOU STUPID, STUPID…BAKA!"

"Oh god, she started crying."

"Where's Hinata?"

"I DON'T NEED EITHER OF YOU ANYWAYS!"

"I-is she drunk?"

"Where the hell were you? Stop her!"

"FORGET YOU KANKURO!"

_**Meanwhile at Neji's shop:**_

_Stupid, Tenten. Getting me this worked up! What the hell would you get mad at me for when you're doing the same shit? We weren't even a couple and you gonna gat that mad about something so trivial, so unnecessary! I'll show her!_

"What are you doing, Neji?" Lee asked.

"Designing! Why?"

"J-just asking?"

_Payback's a bitch, Tenten. I can't believe her. With Kankuro! Who the hell is Kankuro!_

**RANDOM ARGUMENTS! OUT OF CHARACTER-NESS! THIS IS ME NOT CARING…NESS! THIS IS YOU, REVIEWING…NESS…ISIM! REVIEW!**

ᴋᴲᴎᴑᴛᴈ ᴀ**.ᴋ.ᴀ. ᴋᴉᴒԋᴑ ****is out. Peace!**

**(Keynote A).K.A Kicho**


	8. Bachelors

**Disclaimer: still don't own Naruto.**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: SORRY FOR THE WAIT! XD**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: Bachelors<p>

Tenten stared expectantly at the phone she had laid out on the bedding in front of her. It has been a good week since she's had her date with Kankuro and they both agreed to have another so they exchanged emails and promised to talk again, and two nights ago Kankuro called asking to go on another date with her which she eagerly agreed to. He then promised to call again to discuss where they would go and now Tenten was waiting impatiently for the call. Her face became flushed the more she thought of him, the more she waited for his voice to ring through her ears from the other side of the phone. She understood that he's still currently looking to be a famous fashion designer and that he had to do whatever it took in order to be able to be noticed and she respected that, but she still hoped that they could spend as much time together as possible.

_I think I really like this guy._ She thought as she hugged her pillow._ I mean, we have been talking a lot now, and a certain someone hasn't been annoying me for a while now so everything is peaceful and perfect. I finally found someone I find interesting that feels the same way with me. Nothing could go wrong. The only thing that could make my life better is if he calls soon._

The phone rang and she launched at it before the first few beats could complete. "Hello." She chimed almost too excited making herself feel like a teenage girl again.

"…Um, hello to you too, Ten. It's rare for you to be this excited when I'm on the other line."

"Oh…"her heart and smile dropped. "It's you Neji. What do you want?"

"Now that's the tone I'm used to hearing, and what's up with it. I haven't been calling you or bothering you for a whole week and when I finally get the courage to call again, I get this kind of treatment? I mean, who were you expecting?"

"You sure are talkative today, and if you must know I'm waiting on a call from Kankuro."

"Ugh! Him, why?"

"I have a date today with him if you don't mind."

"I do."

"Whatever. I'm waiting for his call right now."

"…"

"Problem?"

"Sort of, but you're lucky that I'm such a nice guy. Otherwise I would have forced you to come here."

"How?" Tenten questioned.

"Our bet. You have to do whatever I ask you to do, remember?"

"…Oh yeah….Well what did you want?"

"I needed you to come to the shop. My students took all the manikins for their homework and I have to model this dress on something."

"So why me?"

"You'd look good in it." He answered bluntly, unknowingly earning a smile from Tenten. She was going to say something back but a beep stopped her in her tracks and her excitement rushed back through her as she read the name on the screen.

"Hold on. I'm going to have to put you on hold for a sec, Neji. Kankuro's on the other line."

"Hn." Neji grunted right before she switched the phone lines.

"Hello." She chirped.

"Tenten, hey, it's Kankuro."

"I know." She laughed. "I have caller ID silly."

"Yeah." He chuckled with no emotion. "Yeah that is true, ne?"

"What's up?" Tenten questioned, hearing the humorless laugh from her dry joke.

"Well," he began, "my brother, Gaara, he needs me for something important today so…um…ˮ

"You have to cancel today." Tenten sighed.

"Sorry."

"No worries. I can manage. Maybe we can make it up Saturday?"

"Sure. Yeah, okay! I'll see you then okay?"

"Hai. Bye, Kankuro."

"By."

He hung and she sighed heavily into the phone.

"What was that?" Neji asked.

"Oh!" Tenten blushed. She had completely forgotten that Neji was still on the other end, or rather that he still stayed on. "That was just me."

"Boyfriend making you mad?"

"He's not my boyfriend yet, and no he is not. It's just that something came up and…and…hey…do you still need help today at the shop?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. I'm on my way."

**Later on at the shop:**

Tenten sighed for what felt like the hundredth time as she stood there staring down at Neji as he instinctively sewed the dress to make it a tighter fit around her waist. She thought of playing with the hair he had frequently pushed back behind his ears, but she figured other wise and just chose to stare at him instead. Behind her, on the couch that used to be in front of the window, were several curious people who watched her rather than Neji as he worked. Each one was staring in disbelief at the girl except for one that was drawing rapidly on a sketch pad showing his clear interest in the sight before him.

"Okay." Sasuke cracked, nearly yelling at the top of his lungs. "I know I'm not the only one that's wondering this, so, who the hell is she?"

"She's my sex buddy." Neji answered with a straight face.

Tenten hit him on his head making him flinch but he never once stopped what he was doing.

"My name is Tenten." She laughed. "And I am not his sex buddy. I'm just an…how do I put this…acquaintance of his."

"She's more than an acquaintance. I've fucked her twice already."

"Neji!" She yelled.

"And I do it again if she'd let me."

"Just shut up!" She hit him again this time getting a laugh and a look from him.

"Wait…" Sasuke wondered aloud. "So she's not in high school?"

"No." Neji laughed, catching all of them off guard. "She just looks like it."

Tenten hit him again, harder than from before, and he growled a little. He pulled a string he was holding on to, tightening the waist line making Tenten squeal in a weird since of pain. All the while Sasuke and the others were steadily watching.

"Interesting." Sai cooed. His pen still moving rapidly as he drew the pose Neji and Tenten were in. "It almost looks like he's playing with her."

"Yeah but," Naruto began. "Neji doesn't…play…does he?"

"It seems he does now." Lee said as he smiled at his laughing friend.

"Not important. Hey Neji." Sai yelled. "What's her bust size?"

"34-C."

"Why would you answer that?" Tenten yelled, hitting him on the head making Neji pull the string again.

"That looks like fun." Another voice came.

Neji looked up and his smile instantly disappeared. Tenten and the others followed his gaze and stared at a strange man. He had spiky hair that was tied into one ponytail and if it wasn't because of his big green eyes and more than excited smile, he would have looked exactly like Shikamaru.

"Hello." The man greeted. "My name is Akimitsu. I am one of the photographers for the bachelor's magazine and I was hoping that I could have your cooperation in one of the-ˮ

"No. Leave." Neji interrupted.

"Ah, but-ˮ

"If Neji isn't in it then I'm not going either." Sai sighed once he looked up from his drawing to stare in agitation at the man. All around him the others agreed silently.

"Well…ˮ the man began. "What if I told you that I'd pay you double."

"Nope still don't want to go."

"How about this," He bargained, "I'll let you bring your work with you, so that whenever you aren't taking a picture then you can work on it. That way you won't be behind by too much."

Neji fixed his mouth to say no when he froze and thought about it. His eyes instantly shot up at Tenten, who was still staring at Akimitsu, then grinned. He pulled the string he held on to and Tenten reacted by looking down at him.

"Fine." He smiled. "But we still get the double the pay."

"Deal!" Akimitsu cheered. He then turned around and headed out to the Limo he had pulled out by the shop while Neji and the others slowly gathered their things.

"Wait." Tenten wondered. "What just happened? Where are you guys going?"

"With that Akimitsu guy for a photo shoot." Naruto frowned.

"Hm?"

"Yeah," Neji added after throwing her over his shoulder. "And you're going with, Tenten."

"Nani? Wait a minute. Put me down now! I don't like being confined! Neji!"

**Later on at the photo shoot:**

Tenten now found herself staring at thousands of people and lights going off in every corner. Beautiful men walked past her either following or being followed by their managers. Camera lights went off at ever given moment and loud bustling hoards of people wondered here and their shouting orders here and there.

Neji and the group followed a proud Akimitsu the whole way. Thousands of eyes stared in disbelief at the group as they walked by. Tenten stared at them though.

"Akimitsu!" A husky voice came! "Akimitsu you clever busy body!"

Everyone turned and watched as a pudgy man began waddling his way over with his arms open. Naruto, Lee and Sasuke laughed at him. Neji, much like always, just stared and Tenten did the same. Sai quickly took out his pen and began drawing.

"Akimitsu." The man chanted again. "I can't believe you actually got them to come! But this isn't all of them is it? Isn't there more?"

"Yes sir there is." Akimitsu began with a smile. "But I already got them. They're in my station right now waiting for me to return with the others as we speak."

"Ah good job, boy!" the pudgy man cheered. "Well let me leave you to your work."

"Yes sir."

He walked off and the others followed still staring at the fat man.

"By others." Sai questioned while still doodling at his newest picture. "Who exactly we're you talking about?"

"You'll see." Akimitsu jeered as he walked around another corner.

"Well isn't this a surprise." Came a bored voice. "Neji Hyuuga actually agreed to being in a Bachelor's Magazine. What has the world came to?"

"Shikamaru." Neji sneered without looking at the figure. "I'm surprised you're here as well."

"Don't get the wrong idea, Hyuuga." Shikamaru chuckled. "Choji wanted to do it, but not alone. So I came with him. If not for that reason, I wouldn't even be here. It's too much of a hassle."

"Same as ever I see, Shikamaru." Naruto laughed.

"Whatever, Naruto."

Tenten smiled at the spiky haired man that resembled Akimitsu, then the slightly chubbier boy next to him.

"Hey, Hyuuga!" A flamboyant voice came making Neji turn.

Tenten nearly screamed when she saw the person approaching them now. He resembled Kankuro but he was so much more different. His eyes were slanted like that of an animals and his hair was a slightly lighter color, yet she knew who he was, especially when another person came beside him sporting a pair of dark glasses and a jacket that covered everything from the nose down.

"What happened to the chick form last week?" Kiba asked gesturing at Tenten.

"She's not important." Neji groaned, wanting to leave the topic of that conversation. he bent down to attend to the dress, leaving Tenten and Kiba alone, in a way.

"I like this one better." He nearly growled.

"This one has a name." Tenten flirted, getting a tight pull from Neji.

"Oh really, and that is?"

"Tenten." She put her hand out and Kiba all too eagerly took it.

"Well hello Tenten. I'm-ˮ

"I already know who you are. And might I add that I am a big fan of the both of you." she cooed looking over his shoulder to at Shino.

Kiba grinned then looked down at Neji again. "Yeah, I like her way better than the last one."

Neji growled then stood up and grabbed Tenten's arm and hid her behind him. "So sorry Inuzuka, but this one's taken."

"Wow you work fast."

"No not by me but by this guy named-ˮ

"Tenten!" a familiar voice called.

Tenten turned and stared in disbelief at the dark haired boy that ran up to her, his wet hair flopping on his face as he ran, shirtless, at her. "Tenten. I'm surprised to see you here."

"Kankuro?" Tenten questioned.

"Kankuro! That was it. That was his name." Neji sneered.

"What are you doing here? I thought you said you had something important to do with your brother."

"I am." Kankuro said as a red head, smaller than him, came up behind him. His hair was wet and drooping in his face as well and his shirt was still on but unbuttoned.

"Gaara, this is Tenten. The girl I was telling you about."

The red head said nothing. He just stared at her before looking off in another direction. Tenten took no note on him and focused on Kankuro again. "This is your something important?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"You picked posing for a bachelor magazine over our date?"

"What? No I-ˮ

"I can't believe you." Tenten cried as she ran off.

Neji and Kankuro just stood there watching as she disappeared. But only Neji was smiling. Not because she was just hurt but because he was just dumped. He turned and looked at Kankuro's worried face as he stared off in the distance.

"What?" Neji asked. "You're not going to go after her?"

"I can't." Kankuro began. "I have to finish the shoot with Gaara."

Neji laughed. "You really do put work over everything else. At this rate, you'll never beat me."

"…What?"

"Neji!" Akimitsu called. "It's time for your shoot."

Neji smirked then walked away felling the glares he got from the boy behind him. _That will teach you to try to steal something from me._ He mused with a sneaky smile. _No one steals from me._

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><p><strong>There will be a part 2 to this soon.<strong>

…**REVIEW!**


	9. Bachelors Part 2

**Disclaimer: Nope…still don't own Naruto…I have checked**

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><p><strong>AN: I did say hopefully. And this chap. is kind of long.**

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><p>Chapter 9: Bachelor Part 2<p>

Kankuro glared daggers at Neji as he posed for the photo shoot. He was now face to face- sorta'- with his number one enemy, the creator and designer of the favored Destiny clothing line, and he couldn't do anything. What's more, he was a cocky person not that that wasn't expected, and up close he had to say that Neji wasn't as handsome as the magazines and news implied. _I could beat that._ He thought as he stared at the Hyuuga refusing to do any outrageous poses for the photographers._ I wouldn't even be complaining about what pose to be in. He's lucky they even wanted him on this thing! And how does he even know Tenten? Why is she modeling for one of his dresses?_

He sighed then turned to stare at the girl that stood not too far from him. He wanted to leave, to go comfort her and to tell her that it wasn't what she was thinking, but something held him there. He couldn't get his mind to cooperate with his heart, to get his feet to move in the direction his eyes were looking. He couldn't get the guts to approach her, knowing that she would give him a run for his money when he got too close. So he decided to stare, hoping that she would look and somehow understand. Unfortunately, she didn't. She knew he was thee the whole time. She could feel his eyes shower her with this pleading call of wanting to be seen. But, nonetheless, she ignored him.

"Kankuro! Let's go. The reporters wish to speak to us."

Tenten didn't have to look up to the sound of the unfamiliar voice to know that it belonged to his brother, the only other person besides Temari that controlled him so easily. She didn't look up till footsteps were heard, disappearing. That's when she sighed and let herself morn once again. She didn't cry she wasn't that type of person; she just sat there staring blankly at the mess Neji was causing as he continued to complain about whatever nonsense the photographers made him do.

"Boy does he have to start a mess with everything they ask him to do?" a mocking voice chimed. Once again, Tenten didn't turn. She just continued to stare at the irritated man. Hm; was her only answer.

"What's wrong with you?" the voice asked not with concern but out of curiosity.

"Nothing. I just want to be alone, Sai."

"Hn? You knew who I was without even turning. I'm flattered that you took so much interest in me."

Tenten laughed then finally looked up at the boy. "How could I forget the voice that started his whole mess I'm in?"

"I hardly see how this is all my fault?"

"Because" She began, "If you hadn't gotten everyone so worked up with your whole "If Neji isn't in it then I'm not going either" comment then the others wouldn't have agreed, then Akimitsu wouldn't have given Neji such an offer and then Neji, you, me and all the others that were at the shop wouldn't have been here right now, because you know just as well as I know that Neji wouldn't have went alone. So it is your fault."

"Yeah I guess you're right." Sai chuckled as he sat down closer to her. "But, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't have learned how much of a liar That Kankuro guy was."

Tenten froze. "Yeah." She nearly cried as she brought her knees to her chest and buried her chin between them, ending the conversation.

"Just don't think of it as a bad thing." Sai cooed, patting her back warmly, surprisingly calming her high nerves. "Just think that you just got rid of a heavy burden of being in love with a fool that loves money more."

Tenten laughed slightly then looked over at his closed note book. "You're not going to draw?" she questioned wanting to change the subject completely.

"Hm…It's just that I've drawn all I could at the moment. I only draw what interests me."

On this, she pondered back on the moment she first saw sketching on that thing. It was when they were in the shop where she was posing in as a manikin for the yellow dress Neji had her wearing at that moment. She saw him sketching blindly other times as well, but those times weren't as important to her. She was more curious on the first time he drew in front of her.

"Can I see?" she asked. Her eyes never once left the cover page of the thing; which had a perfectly drawn picture of him smiling his normal smile at the world.

"No." Sai bluntly answered wearing the same smile that was on the cover page.

_So that's what that picture is meant for._ She thought.

"Neji…" Sai began making Tenten turn to face him again. "Neji has never once smiled so brightly before. Not in front of us at least. But…when he's with you, it's like this beam from…heaven…smacks him and us for that matter, right in the face. And quite honestly, I can't thank you enough for entering that solemn man's life." He smiled, this time with open eyes.

Tenten just stared at him before looking at Neji. He was standing with a glower on his face and his brow lined into one from anger, but he was at least standing in a pose. Now all they had to do was calm him down and get him to not mean mug the cameraman.

"Well I gotta' go now. Bye-bye, Tenten. It was nice talking to you."

She didn't say anything. Her eyes and attention was focused on the once again fuming Neji, her interest rising slowly as she took in the new information given to her making her stand abruptly to walk his way. Her eyes locked on him the whole while till he finally fixed his angry gaze on her. She didn't blush much like she normally would have done, she just stood there staring, making his eyes soften drastically.

"Mr. Hyuuga, please. Just work with us. If you just get this over with then you can go back to whatever it was you were doing before we called you in here."

Neji looked back up at them and growled loud enough to be heard. "Whatever let's just get this over with already!" He sat down and glared at the camera man again.

_No progress._

Tenten laughed softly and Neji turned, hearing her and smirked her way; witch was behind the cameraman and at that moment a flash blinded the both of them.

"Great! That's what we want form you. Can you give us something like that again?"

He didn't hear them. He was staring at Tenten the whole time with this intense look on his face. A wanting stare dancing with a since of ecstasy died his eyes the more he watched her making her twist in an uncomfortable way. Her cheeks flushed slightly to his look and her lower half burned, wanting something she didn't understand.

Neji turned; his whole body was now facing her, his legs; open, head; tilted, eyes; searching and curious and mouth; twisted into a sweet smile. Another flash went off and he stood wanting to go to her but holding himself back. One of his hands shoot up to his neck and the, unbuttoned, shirt fell on one side as he rubbed his neck intentionally wanting her to look at him, to notice his chest, chiseled and perfect and to get her excited enough to get her to come on her own.

Another flash.

"Now get the water bucket."

He still didn't hear them. He didn't see them run hysterically around him, changing the background, grabbing materials and placing new ones in their place. And he didn't see the small man with a bucket of water approach him neither.

_**Splash!**_

"What the hell!" Neji yelled, shooting all of his pent-up anger at the poor thing that had the audacity to do what he just did. Tenten thought of laughing as she stared at the shaking boy who was faced with Neji's antagonism.

_Poor kid._ She thought as the boy ran with watered eyes down the corridor. She allowed a small giggle to escape but that was it, and apparently enough to get Neji's attention back on her.

With tense eyes and wet hair slicked tight against his pale skin, Neji never looked so beautiful to her: except with nothing on. She moaned then bit her lip. Her insides burned to the sight of his wet body and she honestly didn't know why. _I just got over a break up. I shouldn't want someone else already. What's wrong with me? And why does it have to be Neji that I burn for?_

Neji tilted his head and peered at Tenten as she stirred uncomfortably under his stare. He wanted to smile at her action, but kept his cool; kept his unemotional profile controlled. He sighed then as he finally tuned in to his surroundings and heard the cameraman complaining ruthlessly to the boy that unintentionally made him mad again. "Let's just get this over with." Neji grumble while pulling a hand through his damp hair and staring off in the distance.

**Flash.**

He sighed again then slowly walked back to the chair and sat down. Then, leaning over his chair and hands dangling between them, he turned and glared a less dangerous but more sensational look at them. When the crowd reacted to his expression a slight smirk formed on his face.

**Flash.**

"Perfect, Neji! Perfect!" The chubby man cried. "More! Give us more! Make the many women and girls want to tear out your page and masturbate to you day in and day out! Make every woman that was so blessed to have seen these pictures, explode with ecstasy from just glancing at you! Make them scream in pleasure!"

Tenten shivered for what felt like the tenth time. She couldn't keep her eyes off of Neji's tempting body. She couldn't stop staring at him even though he stopped long ago. She couldn't stop her body from wanting against her heart. She couldn't stop her reaction to him; the well known Neji Hyuuga, the name that always ring a bell to her but always went unknown in the end, the name that belonged to the man she longed to empress.

"More! More!" the man cried. If Tenten didn't know any better, she would have thought that he was gradually getting excited himself from watching Neji pose half naked and soaking wet for what seemed to be an overrated magazine for lonely women that had given up on searching for people within their reach.

"One more, hot shot! Gove us one good one then we will be done with the posed pictures." Akimitsu called from behind the cameraman. All around him people waited patiently for his next pose. Some on the edge of their seats, others, like the big "Bachelor Magazine" owner practically wetting their pants.  
>Tenten just stood there awkwardly with her back arched against the wall, her face heavily flushed and her breathing calm and steady, ready and waiting for whatever it was he would throw at them. That's when his eyes repositioned to look back at her. A sudden warm feeling rushed over him as he stared, but to the people in front of her, it seemed like he was staring intensely at the lenses.<p>

Another sigh left his mouth and his hand shot up once again to the wet hair he had draping over his eyes. The shirt he previously had on all the way had slipped down to his wrist and, from the many water bucket takes, was now see-through. His chest, perfectly carved, in his and everyone else's eyes, seemed to shine as the light reflected across the water droplets that slowly crept closer and closer to his slightly unbuttoned jeans where his blue plaid underwear peeked profoundly over and stayed. His eyes, though clear as they were, appeared more translucent then they could ever bee. They looked softer than usual and they were looking directly at her. They looked, painful and pleasure-filled at the same time like they were yearning for attention, and from her. But the look confused her and made her relax a little to think.

_What's this?_ She thought.

"PERFECT!" the pudgy man yelled signaling the end of the shoot and Neji's hint that it was time for him to walk away. "Perfect. I expected nothing less from you Mr. Hyuuga and I want to be the first to say that I am more than excited that you finally agreed to be in this year's "Bachelor's" magazine!"

"Hn."

"Okay! Get this man a towel. He needs to dry off before he goes in for the interview."

Tenten watched eagerly as Neji walked towards her in a rather slow motion.

"Did you have fun watching?" He questioned.

"I should be asking you the same thing."

He laughed and Tenten stared again, remembering Sai's previous comment about him hardly ever showing as much emotion in public. It didn't seem to fit in well with her. To be honest, she felt it was the other way and that he hardly ever showed that stoic side. _Maybe that's just me?_ She assumed.

She looked down at the now busy Hyuuga and felt slightly irritated that he went straight to work instead of pulling a fast one on her like she expected but regarded it quickly and began playing with the damp strands of his hair. She felt his breath on her legs and smiled to herself wondering why Sai said someone like him, a person that laughed at mostly all of her actions, was considered stoic.

From a distance, Kankuro watched helplessly as his enemy sat so close to his girl. Well ex-girl. He couldn't do anything because if he were to leave Gaara's side for too long he would be severely punished by Temari.

"I want to go over there and apologize." He cooed.

"For what?" Gaara moaned. "It is your fault that she isn't too fond of you right now. So no matter what you say to her, she'll still see you as the type of guy that would put money over her if it went to your success. She's still going to see you as an arrogant boob. So just give up on her."

"What?" Kankuro argued back. "If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be in this mess."

"Me? Kankuro you failed to remember that this Bachelor thing was and still is an optional thing. I wouldn't have been in this, and neither would you if you had just stop thinking about money all the time. Because that Akimitsu character asked if I wanted to be in this not demanded, and I said no, but then here you come with options; talking about double the pay for the both of us, since you assumed that I couldn't go anywhere public without my lackey by my side!"

Kankuro said nothing. Gaara wasn't the type to raise his voice or talk too much for that matter. So when he did, it was crucial to give him a couple of seconds to calm down.

"I see." He finally sighed. "So it is all my fault. But I just have to get this money. I can't keep living off of you guys forever. I need this in order to start my clouting line."

"…I feel sorry for that girl." Gaara sighed as he walked off with Kankuro following.

"Maybe after I get all the money I need, Tenten will understand and come back?"

"Hai, hai." Gaara's deep voice was heard as they disappeared.

~Silence~

"…Interesting." A smooth voice cooed as the sound of pen markings danced around him.

**After the shoot**

"I can't think you guys enough for this amazing opportunity!" Akimitsu cheered. "The boss has never been this excited from having someone take a shoot."

Tenten laughed as she held the small envelop in her hands. She didn't expect to get paid herself, but since the whole back of the book would be covered with side pictures Akimitsu took of the many people there, and she just so happened to be in most every other picture that involved the "clique", she was paid the same amount the boys were paid. Not only that but Neji finally finished the dress and she eagerly changed back into her normal get up ad aside from the horrible news of an uncaring boyfriend, she could say that she had a good day.

"Tenten!"

_Spoke too soon._

"Tenten…" Kankuro huffed once he came to a stop in front of them toppling over on his knees to catch his breath. Neji growled at his presence but nonetheless, entered the limo ahead of her leaving them alone to "talk".

"Tenten. I just-I just came to-to say- say that I was sorry. I know what I did was bad but you just don't understand. My brother-ˮ

"Save it." She interrupted. Her hands shook uncontrollably as she dug in her pocket and pulled out a mini tape recorder and a folded piece of paper than shoved it into his chest. "I already know." And with that, she climbed in beside Neji, slammed the door and never once looked back.

Kankuro just stared at the disappearing car. He was confused and didn't do anything till Gaara approached him.

"_Kankuro you failed to remember that this Bachelor thing was and still is an optional thing. I wouldn't have been in this, and neither would you if you had just stop thinking about money all the time. Because that Akimitsu character asked if I wanted to be in this not demanded, and I said no…"_

"Wow." Gaara chuckled. "Now she'll never want to be with you again."

Kankuro chirped a sad sound then quickly unfolded the paper in his hand. Gaara looked over his shoulder and read out loud:

"_Dear , _Liar[That's a nice way to start]

"_Sai told me everything. Little did you know that he was near and he just so happened to have recorded it as well, not that I wouldn't have believed him to begin with, seeing as how you lied to me as is. And I know that you will probably lie again. Saying something about your brother did this_[That's right on point, too]_or your brother did that, and I just want to say that that is something I cannot deal with. I am not sorry…but I do hope you succeed in your fashion quest…thing_

"_Sincerely_[What, no love], Tenten."-(1)-

Gaara looked at Kankuro then and smiled a dastardly smile at his brothers shocked face. "It's called karma, Kankuro. You of all people should now understand what happens when karma is involved." He laughed again.-(2)-

But Kankuro wasn't laughing. He was just staring. At nothing in particular; just…staring, as the wind blew the note, the last thing Tenten ever told him, out and away from his lingering hands.

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><p><strong>There you go. Once again sorry for the wait and now the late update, but I didn't say that all of the stories would be updated on the same days…so yeah…still, I am sorry.<strong>

**1.) When these: [] : show up thats when Gaara is putting in his 2 cents while reading Ten's letter**

**2.)In the past, since it's not going to be mentioned in the acctual story, Kankuro used to brag to Gaara about hoiw he was going to be the succesor to the families riches and buisness and that Gaara would end up as a lonely begger that would be the shun to the family name...yeah he was a bully back then,,,and i'm surprised myself that Gaara didnt kill him then and there**


	10. Settin' The Stage

**Disclaimer: Psh! I wish I owned Naruto.**

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><p><strong>AN: you can't see it, but I'm smiling like the hyper smiley face…**

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><p>Chapter 10: Settin' The Stage<p>

She couldn't say anything. All her thoughts were focused on one thing and one thing only: herself. And though it may sound conceited, it's not. She wasn't thinking of herself in that kind of matter, it was more along the lines of _"What did I just do?"_ or_ "How did I get myself into this?"_ instead of _ˮDamn I'm something!"_ or _"I'm just too good."_ She would never allow herself to think in such a manner. It wasn't her style, but, then again, neither was swindling her own self and stooping to the lowest of low measures to handle a bad break up. Neither was sleeping with someone after just breaking up with another, totally different, guy. That was something, not trying to sound impudent here but, Ino would do, not her, and she felt slightly dirty to have done the deed in the first place. Still, what's done is done and now she lay there, staring at the patterns on the ceiling above her, butt naked and under the soiled sheets of Neji Hyuuga's for what felt like the 10th time.

"You look horrible." A deep voice cooed breaking her from her trance making her loose the motion picture she made on the wall. She cursed under her breath then stared at the guy that stared back at her. She didn't even fight with him on it though. She knew she looked horrible, especially compared to him, because, even with sex-head Neji still managed to look strikingly amazing. "I wish I could say the same for you." She hummed in response as he slid out of the bed, dragging the covers along with him to wrap around his bare waist. "Why is it that you always look amazing, Neji?"

He simply looked back at her, allowing a genuine smile to touch his beautiful features. "You say that like it's a bad thing, and don't get my last comment wrong. You look astounding yourself."

"Oh please." She scoffed. "What part of me looks the least bit-ˮ

But before she could finish her sentence the sheets, her only shield, were pulled from right under her nose. She barely had enough time to react before Neji crushed her under his strong build. A few scuffled laughs left her mouth as she adjusted to the new weight that was now on her, and, even though he looked slightly erotic with the lowered eyes and bitten bottom lip thing, she still faced away from him. That didn't stop him though.

"How many times am I going to here that coming from you?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked after finally fixing her gaze on his gorgeous face, his thin lips and those to-die-for eyes.

He shifted suddenly rubbing his manhood against her and loved her reaction but ignored it. "You know what I'm talking about. For the last time Tenten, there is nothing wrong with you. What do I have to do to get that through that thick scull of yours?"

She laughed and he kissed her mainly out of exhaustion. He couldn't be above her and not do anything. It was impossible. So he kissed her again then slowly began to grind on her. She did nothing to stop him. She just laid there with her hands pressed against his chest, ready to push whenever needed, and though she hated to admit it, she did like the feeling he gave her. True she felt like a slut, and yes anyone did have every right to call her one, but that didn't stop her. He was too good to let go of now and she defiantly wasn't going to lose him over someone that came nowhere near in looks, style eloquence or any other intimidating thing she could think of. She was most certainly never going to lose her b…

Neji grunted an indifferent sound once he felt the strong push on his chest by the smallest of hands. He growled when the push came again, then barked another sound of disagreement as he sat up, refusing to leave the warmth of her body completely. "What?" he asked with the slightest hint of annoyance in his baritone voice.

"It's just…" she winced as she sat up. Her head began to pulse uncontrollably to her sudden movement, not that she expected less. She was wasted, not enough to forget the contents of last night but enough to feel it in the morning, and it was all Neji's fault, partially hers for agreeing to let alcohol settle her problems, but mostly his.

She looked back at him. He didn't budge. His hands still kept their comfortable position on either side of her and his eyes never once changed from that cold lingering look of irritation that hardly ever shot her way. And even though she could pin point his obvious rising anger, she still pressed on, shifting her legs from under him, only to have him lock his waist in all attempts of keeping her there.

"It's just that I don't see the…point in all of this. Not anymore."

"Point to what." He moved, allowing her to curl her knees up to her bare chest, covering her plump breast thoroughly from the beast that would attack them if left out too long.

"The point to this!" she motioned at the both of them before encircling the whole messy space they slept in last night. "Us!" she finally yelled after getting a confused glare from the designer. "I don't see the point in us! I mean, we're not even in a relationship and look at us. It's like every time I see you I end up struggling under your weight trying to tear either your clothes or my clothes off, which of those I'm actually doing, I don't know? I can't tell anymore."

Neji stared at her. Half of him wanted to hold her small figure, but the other half wanted to ignore her little speech and just attack her right then and there. He didn't know which would win, so he did neither action and just stared as she rushed past him trying to find her missing articles of clothing before he let a long sigh out. Tenten simply ignored it and continued fumbling with her pants as she drove her leg in one side, missing a couple of tries but making it in after calming down.

"Tenten." Neji finally spoke. He didn't move from the bed. He just rolled over allowing the sheets to cover his lower half as he stared up at the girl that openly overlooked him. "Tenten, please." He whined still receiving no answer from her. He sighed again, but this time stood up with it and proceeded to chase idly after her, walking awkwardly with the sheets that managed to wrap tightly around his waist and legs.

She reached the door but was stopped from leaving the moment his strong hand push against it, shocking her, but getting nothing more than a wide stare from her chocolate brown eyes. She refused to speak to him. There was no longer a purpose, and if there was she couldn't see it, so she deemed it useless if it was left unseen.

"Let me out." She scolded after the Hyuuga's quiet act of just staring. "I have to go home and prepare. I'm going out with the girls." She reached for the door only to be stopped again by his swift hands. Before she could protest against it, she found herself pined against the nearest wall. But she wasn't startled. She wasn't even bothered by this action. She was actually slightly amused with irritating Neji. "There are no boys allowed in this little get together, Neji." She smirked before sliding out of his grip, only to be stopped again._ So indecisive._

"Tenten, what do you want form me?" he questioned with dreary eyes. "What can I do to make…this better, because I don't want you to leave, and quite honestly, I didn't ask to be more than this because of your break up."

Her smile dropped as she stared into his eyes. She felt somewhat elated upon hearing his 'more than this' comment, but that feeling was hopelessly dropped the moment the break up was mentioned.

She didn't cry. That, once again, wasn't her style, but she did mope a little hanging her head low so as not to be seen by the bearer of the "all seeing" eyes. It didn't slide though. He saw clearly how sad she became and instantly regretted mentioning it to her. Then it happened, a tear fell, catching her off guard as she watched it hit the floor. Not long after, another fell, then another, and another and they kept falling till she found the urge to sniff, hopping that that would stop those dastardly things from falling. They didn't, it just made it evident that she was now crying.

"Tenten…" Neji's deep voce could be heard over the sniffling sounds that were made. She didn't answer.

"Tenten, look at me."

She did, slowly but surely, she did, and put no effort in attempting to hide the fact that she was crying, and full force at that. Neji didn't even get the chance to say anything before she lunged into his chest, crying her heart out, crying tears that Neji felt shouldn't be coming from her, but from the person she was crying for.

He held her there, letting her cry as loud as she wanted and as long as she wanted while he sat there cradling her like a baby and silently regretting, having bringing up the break up.

"Tenten…listen. I want to tell you something…important."

_**Later that day:**_

Dark eyes watched effortlessly as people rushed past, but to these eyes that were clouded with thought, the people were dragging, none looking enthusiastic about the place they were going to and none seeming to notice the distant eyes staring at them. The carrier of said eyes just continued to stare, even when uncanny stares were, occasionally, given back. She seemed to not care all too well about anything, not anymore. The only thing that interested her were the thoughts swimming in her head, the thoughts that took over every inch if her brain, leaving her mind vacant and open for it too dance here and there freely without being tossed aside for a more important one. It made her look stupid and yes she was aware of that, but what more could she do about it. It just seemed right, that face, and if she didn't have it, she would have felt out of place and lost even, making her seem even weirder to the bystanders, and no matter how hard she tried, she could never get the thought –his words- to leave her head.

_What could he have meant by that?_ She questioned as she subconsciously watched the swirl of thought sway in and out of her vision, each time bringing another confusing question to add to the mix that it had already thrown at her. _Was he serious? What could he want with me? I'm just a normal girl. There's nothing special about me. Is there?_

She blinked after a while when she saw a familiar figure stride through the streets, literally stopping traffic, followed by two other familiar figures that proceeded to receive annoying honks of satisfaction from drivers, all of whom were male, with their heads dangling out the car windows and tongues lolling down their necks.

The first to approach her was, the self dubbed leader of the pack, Ino. Her smile spread wide across her face as she took in the gestures of her "audience" with glee. Next was Sakura who wasn't as fervent with it as her childhood friend. A small blush danced on her cheeks and her hand instinctively shot up several times to push unexisting stray strands of hair out of the way. Hinata was last; her pale eyes were fixed on Tenten, wanting to ignore the whole scenario, but failing to hide the wild blush that made her even more irresistible to the wolves of the streets.

Tenten smiled at them. She didn't forget about that thought that aimlessly floated around her now preoccupied head. She just simply moved it to the side, forcing herself to at least think of something to say to her closest friends minus one.

"Hey guys, nice show by the way. Where's Temari?"

Her friends simply looked at her before sighing simultaneously, perking Tenten's interest when even Hinata had joined in on it.

She inwardly flinched when a pale hand was placed on her shoulder. She found herself following it back to its owner, stopping only when two pearl like eyes stared instinctively at her unfazed by her intense brown ones doing the same thing. Another flinch managed when another hand was placed on her other shoulder. The same process was repeated till she stared at two sea foam green eyes now. She almost felt herself prepare for the other hand to appear wherever there was room left, but was surprised when the last girl simply stared at her with a wry smile filled with so much concern and grief that it made her gasp, knowing all too well where this conversation was going, but she was stopped by the other two, surprisingly strong, girls that now gripped her shoulders forcing her to stay put. A melancholy sigh left the blondes mouth before she headed to the nearest store with the other two, and one reluctant one, following close behind.

"It was a good show wasn't it?" Ino finally perked with her back turned to the others. "And as far as Temari's considered, she's searching for a certain someone. She said she'll join us later and to go ahead of her." she turned. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is how you're feeling right now, Tennie."

Tenten gawked at the bluntness of her friend before shaking it off to gawk at the use if her nickname. "I don't know what you're talking about?" she lied. "I'm perfectly fine, and I would be better if I wasn't being held against my will right now. I mean come on, what do you guys take me for, a burglar? What am I being held for?"

No one laughed at her dry joke. They just stared at her, reluctant of letting the situation go, or her go for that matter. "You know what she meant, Tenten." Hinata said, making it sound more like a warning than anything else. "Don't jock around. Not at a time like this."

Nothing was said. No one moved, and for a while, it seemed like no one even breathed as Tenten's lips pressed tightly into a thin line. She could feel her anger rise, and the tears build as she hung her head. She refused to cry. It still wasn't in her character, even though she had already broken that earlier on in the day, and had vowed to never break it again over something so trivial as a boy that wasn't worth it. No, not even friends were allowed to see that side she wasn't proud of, and now that she was so close to showing them, she had to do something, anything…

"It's…nothing. I mean, I'm fine." She looked up. Her eyes were slightly glistened, but not enough to give herself away, not even to Hinata. "Really I am." She added on when she noticed the "not buying it" look on her friends faces. "Kankuro and I were obviously not meant to be if it ended so soon, and I have to admit that I was sad to have found that out, but I was in no way devastated from that loss. I can deal. And quit honestly, 'dealing' won't work too well if you guys keep smothering me with unorthodox solutions to solve my, no longer existing, heartbreak."

"But, Tennie-ˮ

"Enough with the pampering already." She scolded, shaking her friends hands off her shoulders before looking at them with ignorance and doubt. "Where's all my joking friends. The ones that taunted me back and forth and day and night about nothing really, the one's that I loved for their insecurities and tolerance, the ones I miss and **KNOW**: Those friends. Wherever they are, I want them back. Now."

Nothing else was said. The girls couldn't say anything. They only stared, unsure that their words would have been a wasted effort now that she had finished her rant on them. Hinata was the first to react, stepping forward and linking her arm through Tenten's the way Temari always did, and smiling broadly while a light blush outlined her perfect cheek bones. "Insecure friend #1 is right her." She whispered.

"Insecurity inflicted ally #2 is also intact and ready commander." Sakura saluted before linking arms with Hinata.

Ino fought back a giggle, stepping up with both arms stretched before them, before bowing, tucking one under her to support her stomach and outstretching the other in a rather off gesture. "I beseech thee." She joined in, connecting her arm with Sakura's. "My good fellow's, Insecure madam figure 3 is also present."

Tenten laughed, breaking the others into a rather obnoxious fit of mirth as bystanders continued to stare with worry dying their eyes for the 4 girls.

"Let's go, guys." She giggled. The others did so, swinging their arms high in the air before them like teenage girls as they wafted through the crowd feeling light and relevant, singing "We're looking for insecure, insecure # 4." Over and over. Completely oblivious to the annoyed frowns they were receiving from, other, less animated people.

It was a fun experience for her, and she loved every bit of it. But that thought, that one thought that floated aimlessly in the back of her head, slowly inching its way to the front with every passing second, never once strayed too far from its propose: to take over her whole head.

Tenten swallowed. They had calmed down, Temari told them exactly where she was in the mall, and the whole Kankuro subject was completely blown over by the time they found the girl who refused to talk about such "scum" as she called it. All focus was back on shopping and the constant begging for makeovers from the two most eager shoppers of the group, which meant that her focus was on anything other than, which brought her back to the mimicking, yet serious words that never once died down.

'_If you don't mind.' Neji cooed into her ear at that time, while cradling her in his strong arms. 'I would like to take you somewhere, anywhere, just as long as you like it. You can think of it as a date…I know I will.' _**(1)**

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><p><em><strong>Phew!<strong>_** I'm finally done with this chapter. So um yeah, you know how it is. I tell you about some things blah, blah, blah, I **_**(beg)**_** for you to review blah, blah, blah, I end with my signature:**

…**Oh wait…wrong Fanfic…oh well**

**Keynote** ᴀ**.****ᴋ****.****ᴀ****. ****Kicho**** is out. Peace!**

**And I end it with some info I either knew you didn't know or assume you don't know:**

**(1)- this time, it's a flash back so the whole: ' blah, blah, blah' thing is what he said in the flashback a.k.a. back in that time…period…phase…thing.**


	11. Neji, Neji, Neji!

**Disclaimer: to own this manga, you could wish, but owning it; it is improbable.**

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><p><strong>AN: Questions, comments, concerns; all are accepted: THIS JUST IN! KICHO IS PLANNING TO ADD AN EXTRA CHAPTER (only if it is wanted) I SIMPLY ASK THAT YOU LEAVE YOUR IDEA'S BASED OFF OF THIS STORY IN THE REVIEW SECTION, AND I WILL PICK THE BEST SUITED IDEA. If nothing saying: EXTRA! Shows up then I guess you could already tell what went down…Carry on!**

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><p>Chapter 11: Neji, Neji, Neji!<p>

_How do I always get myself caught up in this?_ Tenten asked herself as she stared in disbelief at the immense group of people that mixed and mingled, literally, in front of her each with something in their glasses and each with huge desperate aura's engulfing their whole bodies as they chatted about their likes and dislikes that probably got them single in the first place. _I can't believe they dragged me here? Do I look that desperate? I'm not that desperate!_

"I'm going to get some ice cream." She turned but was caught by Ino.

She spun her eager-less friend around and faced her with the crowd once again, placing her arm around her neck and holding her in place making her look at what could easily through off for a soup opera scene. "Ino I do not need to be there!" cried Tenten. "This is not the type of place I need to be at. I'm not like them. I'm not desperately looking for a man that bad!"

"Oh relax." Ino assured her. "These people aren't as bad as they seem. Give them a chance."

"Would you date one of them?"

"Hell no! Now get out there and mingle." She pushed her. Tenten didn't, or rather couldn't do much against it though. She just turned and watched as the rest of the people she called "friends" shrugged her way unsure on whether or not they should help her.

_If only they knew what I've done._ Tenten thought as she danced in and out of the crowd heading straight to the bar and refusing to stop to talk to the people that turned her way._ If only they knew that I've had plenty of experience with sex, then they wouldn't be complaining about my love life. I mean, I'm perfectly happy with what I got know. I got friends, a decent job, privacy and a friend with benefits…wait-_

"Hello." A charming voice cooed, making her turn. The boy that stood before her looked strangely familiar with his spiked hair and dark eyes. She would have found interest in him, if it wasn't for that lingering thought still dancing around, refusing to leave her be.

"Hi." She answered, not wanting to say much else.

"You look down. What's bugging ya'?"

_You if you don't leave me alone._ "Nothing really, I'm just not in a good mood."

"Well how you gonna' be here, and not be happy? This isn't the down in the dumps kind of place." He smiled, revealing a row of shinny white teeth and two small dimples on either side of his face. Tenten didn't answer him. She just looked him up and down, taking in his tall stance and tanned skin. He wore what looked like an expensive suit, black from head to toe, and a shinny Rolex watch, that he made sure to point out to anyone that he talked to. "See somethin' you like?" he questioned as his smile grew wider and his head cocked to the side.

_Not really. _"Actually I was wondering what you're doing here? You don't look like the kind of guy that would have to stoop to something as low as this." She motioned at the whole gathering before looking at the boy who only seemed amused by what was going on.

"Well" he began after finally sitting down beside her. "You look pretty fine yourself little lady. I guess we both don't need to be here, but um…I'm here 'cause I'm bad at finding decent people."

"So you come here thinking there will be decent people around." She mocked. Her interest finally perked, not enough to want his number, but enough to have her fully listen to him.

"Well yeah, I mean, look at this bunch. I doubt any of them would end up beein' a thief or a gold digger or anything senile like that."

"Unless they thought the same way you did."

"…Oh."

Tenten laughed, something she didn't think she could do around a play boy like him, but she did.

"So what's your name?"

"Tenten." She twirled her straw in her drink as she answered, watching his actions and making sure to not be taking in by him.

"Tenten? That's a cute name, sounds different? Where ya' from?"

"Here: My mom's Chinese and my dad's Japanese."

"Interesting. Well my name's Zaku. It's nice to meet you Tenten." He put out his hand, which she took firmly into a strong grip. "Nice grip. Didn't really expect that from a girl."

"You saying that girls aren't strong?" she teased, once again, enjoying herself way too much.

"No, no not at all. I was just a little surprised by your strength. Don't get me wrong, you look like you can take down any unwelcomed guest at any given moment- now, 'cause you did kind of give off a feeble appeal. No offence though."

"Ouch. I can't even say non-taken. That one really hurt just now." She swiveled in her chair to get a better look at the man hopping that it would at least get her attention away from a certain someone. It did, but not out of interest seeing as she's seen better dressed- namely Neji- men before, plus this guy in particular reminded her of someone, she just couldn't put her finger on it.

He smiled making the stress lines under his eyes move with his jaw line then leaned off the bar, tapping his diamond encrusted fingers against the hard glass before pushing off making sure to get himself closer to her. Tenten flinched back a little at this, but not before catching a whiff of the heavy amount of liquored he previously devoured mixed in with this horrible smell of cigarette smoke. She almost through up right then and there but held it in.

"So what do you do for a living Miss Tenten?"

She eyed him down before turning back in her chair, tapping the counter and asking for another drink before she faced him again. "I rather not talk about it."

"Not payin' well?"

"No. My pay's just fine. It's just that that's not what I saw myself doing when I was in high school and college. I mean I like it and all, but it's not my dream job."

"…So you bored of it?"

"Yeah."

"Well what did you want to be?"

"An author. I wanted my name to be heard from all over the world from Japan to the US to England even."

"Well what stopped you?"

"I hated publicity. I still do. I mean it's gotten so bad that I don't even tell people about my personal life."

"Hm." He pressed his lips in a fine line before sitting down next to her, legs open her way, back facing all others and eyes looking eager as they danced up her body stopping occasionally at her breasts and poorly hidden- thanks to Ino and Sakura- thighs. "So I guess I'm just an acceptation then."

Tenten looked up then back down at her drink tiredly. "I…guess." She cooed. Her heart nearly stopped when she heard his words. She hadn't even realized what she was doing until he told her, and now that she knew, she was defiantly unwilling to go back that alley. "So what about you." he quickly changed subjects. "What do you do for a living? Must be something big considering the finery you constantly keep showing off."

"Is it that noticeable." He laughed.

"You're practically blinding me over here."

"Well, I'm a Realtor."

"What and you get that much money?"

"Yes I am a successful one. Thank god for that though."

"That's amazing."

"Aw you flatter me. I'm not that first-rate to deserve those words from you."

"Well of course you aren't. I'm just being nice."

"Ouch!"

"Payback for the weak thing." She teased again. Zaku simply laughed a deep, trembling laugh that made her tingle with guilt as she watched him, his spiky hair forming in front of her into a different do, a longer one, a much longer one of slightly darker color and a much silkier texture. She blinked before rubbing her eyes then pushing her drink away from her before facing his now smiling figure. His skin seemed paler, his eyes, which were of a rich dark brown, turned a pale, lavender like color as the pupils disappeared. Stern eyes instead of lazy ones stared at her now and as he talked, though she couldn't really hear what he was saying, his voice lowered at least two octaves catching her off guard completely as the picture of Neji formed in front of her out of a completely different person.

"I really enjoy talking to you, Tenten." Zaku began but with Neji's voice, face and build. "I think we should talk more. If you don't mind-"

_What?_

"I would like to take you out. Anywhere you wanna' go I'll take you…as a date of course."

"What?" She croaked, hardly believing what she was hearing.

"I want to go on a date with you, Tenten." Zaku/Neji repeated. "I mean, if you want to go shopping I could take you around the mall too. I'll buy you anything you want and-ˮ

Tenten stared, not hearing him as he babbled on and on about things she could care less about as his figure came back up, not Neji's but his. She blinked, looking confused with every one as the picture faded in and out from Neji to Zaku to Neji again. Then she finally turned and grabbed her things, ignoring Zaku's rushed and confused apologies as she rushed out of the place, tearing through Her friends worried arms and heading straight for the nearest exit with only one thought, one person in mind now and guilt tainting her whole body with agony and despair and treason.

"Tenten!" she heard Temari scream. At the sound of her name she stopped and turned around. Her face was hard as rock as she stare at the blonde rushing her way. Dark eyes resembled glass with every passing moment. "Tenten, what's wrong? Why the rush? Did that guy at the bar say something to hurt you?"

She shook her head, answering ever question that was bombarded at her. She didn't say anything till her other three friends caught up each one breathing slightly faster than normal. "Are you sure you're okay?" Temari asked with concern.

"Yeah. It's just that I…I don't know. I just felt like leaving."

"Was it that guy's fault?" Hinata asked.

Tenten stared at her seeing Neji's face instead of the girls then quickly snapped out of it and looked at the other faces around her only to see him again.-(1)-

"No. he didn't do anything I just…I just needed to get out of there."

"Well where were you going?" it was Sakura's turn to ask questions, taking on as the mother-like-figure she was when in situations like this.

"I…don't…know?"

"Tenten what is wrong with you?" Ino breathed. "You've been out of it since this morning. You even sounded pretty bad when I called you to take you out to begin with! What's going on? You can tell us, we're your friends remember."

She eyed them down. Neji's face never once left her sight so she looked away, finding the ground suddenly more interesting than their faces. "I just want to go home. I think if I can get some rest I'll be better." She looked up; ignoring the many worried Neji's that stared her down then smiled to reassure them that things were fine when they really weren't.

"Okay." Temari spoke up with crossed arms not yet buying it, but falling slightly for it nonetheless. "My car is on the other side of the building. I'll drop you guys all off."

"Thank you." Hinata sighed, remembering that embarrassing moment when she crossed the street with her friends receiving hordes of honks and howls that she was not too proud of.

Tenten laughed beside her. Neji's face was finally gone and she felt a little less anxious now as she walked on hand in hand with Hinata and Temari, and Ino and Temari. Still, though she wanted to forget everything, though she wanted his name to be hidden or thrown off somewhere far from her head she still couldn't get him out of her mind.

"Oh! A sale! Let's go check it out!" Ino screamed dragging the group into the store, but not before Tenten could catch a glimpse of the sign on the front window that danced above the fully equipped manikins that read:_ Restocked on Destiny's finest!_ With Neji's taunting smirk to top it all off.

She found herself staring at it, imagining that it was smiling at her sweetly, wanting to talk, but not yet having the ability to do so.

_Oh god no. why is he always in my head?_

**10pm That Night:**

Tenten waved by to her friends as they drove off leaving her alone on her front porch. Her smile faded the farther they got and her hand dropped towards her bag with every passing moment. She rushed inside, closing the door behind her. She dumped the contents of her bag on the nearest couch, grabbed her phone and dialed the number that belonged to the name that has been stuck in her head all day.

"Neji, hey!...Listen…um, can we, um, meet somewhere…tonight?...The hotel?...Okay. I'll see you there.

**Neji's POV:**

I rushed through the doors of the hotel I wasn't supposed to be seeing often then looked around feeling my eyes pop out of their sockets as they searched desperately for that one girl that never failed to set my heart on max.

"Neji." A melodic voice came. I didn't even have to turn to know who it was. I felt my shoulders relax before I smiled to myself.

"Tenten." I turned watching her as she came at me slowly, shyly for once. "Have I kept you waiting?"

She smiled a weak smile before tucking her head under my arms, burying her face in my side. "You have something to talk to me about?" I questioned. She just looked up. Her eyes gave off this alarmed look before they fell into a more comfortable one.

"Yeah."

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><p><strong>Sorry for the late update (time wise) I was tired. I had a lot of testing. So yeah...<strong>

**-(1)-* hint hint*, that is till his face showed up on all of the others faces as well…*sigh* only time will tell.**


	12. Meme

**Disclaimer: N.A.R.U.T.O. I.D.O.N.T.O.W.N.I.T**

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><p><strong>AN: She's back!**

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><p>Chapter 12: Meme<p>

She waited patiently for her sempai in the comfort of his room, hands closed around each other and eyes dancing from wall to wall, studying the different designs that he had taped to them. It was weird to be there without him around especially because he was indeed a **he** and that that **he** was known highly for being a player at times, and that that **he** was her crush, her teacher and mentor and much more though he wasn't aware of it all. She shivered to her thoughts then looked elsewhere, deciding to study, instead, his room itself instead of his design style, and what she saw wasn't all too pretty. He had a fairly messy room with several pieces of cloth, possibly rejected designs, thrown every which way and a pile of dirty clothes, mostly sheets, thrown into one corner. Another corner had a long rack with several suits and dresses and other work wear crumpled in bags, each one labeled with a tag that had some fancy cursive writing on it. Normally she would have ignored that; she would have focused more on the fact that his room was messy when he himself didn't seem like that type of person, but not today. Today she wanted to explore, and she wanted to go somewhere with Neji. She wanted to get past the student teacher relationship at least, and she figured in order to do that she had to know what his type was. What does he look for in a woman? What's that girls since of style, and where else to go to find all that out, than the rack that possibly had clothes for the woman he was most infatuated with.

_I wonder. _She thought as several different pictures of many different women, all elegant and beautifully adorned in fine jewels, danced through her head, each one seeming close to what she thought his type would be. _I wonder what he likes. I wonder who he likes. Will she be a challenge? Will I be able to beat her to his heart?_

She pulled at the tag gently, reading aloud the name that he had scribed on it. "Tenten...who's Tenten?" she grabbed another tag in hopes to see another fancier name, but instead was met with yet another Tenten-Tag. She looked at the others and was nearly mortified when she saw once again nothing but  
>Tenten. From ever dress to every suit, everything was Tenten. "Who's Tenten!" she spat as she stared at the many things he had made specifically for that one girl, from cute cocktail dresses to sleek mermaid style dinner dresses, to work suites with either skirts or pants.<p>

"This is cute." She said, picking up a small white cocktail dress with a maroon colored belt to match. "So is this." She cooed, eyeing down another dress: red with no sleeves and a black pearl embroidering of a dragon going down the right thigh. "That's not fair at all." She moaned. Everything on the rack was cute to her. The grey, pleated, batwing jumper, the blue-jean blue, short-styled rompers, the fuchsia back drape, knee-length dress, the shirts that fell just short of the neck and bust, everything. It was all adorable to her, and it all made her feel less sufficient to Neji. It made her feel so small. So uncharacterized, so-

"Meme?"

She turned, a wild blush danced on her cheeks as she stared at Neji who looked just as surprised as she did for once. "What are you doing here?"

She opened her mouth to speak but stopped when the small, brown eyed girl peeked from around him, her eyes like doe's eyes, searching for danger in the open space beyond her. She stepped out from behind him timidly once she saw her. It was then that Meme finally saw her. Her brown hair tied into two tired looking buns looked silky as the lights bounced off of them, her peach skin seemed smooth and gave her a tomboyish appeal, made it look like she stayed outside a lot on her free time and her body, though still small, looked long and slightly muscular. She reminded her of your typical sport engrossed high school girl.

Neji turned, looking briefly at the girl before facing Meme again, seeing her clear curiosity in her. "Meme" he boomed, snapping her out of it. "This is Tenten. I believe you two met already. She came by the shop and attacked me."

"Oh!" Meme screamed before she could cover her mouth. She stared at them, then just Tenten before she looked back over at the rack and the small cocktail dress that she still had lying on the chair she once sat at._ From here it looks like the same frame; same bust size, waist and leg length, even the same name. Could this be the Tenten he's talking about?_

Neji turned, seeing what she was staring at, and before she could even say anything he spook up. "Yes those are for her. I made them. Did you look through them?" he walked towards it with Tenten following.

"Yes." She cooed, never once taking her eyes away from Tenten who was only a couple of inches taller than her, and a whole head smaller than Neji. "I like them. The white cocktail is my favorite by far. I also think that the batwing jumper would look cute on her, maybe in yellow though. She seems energetic and that's a very hyper color, and the dragon one is just amazing. It suits her attitude perfectly."

She watched the girl attentively. Her eyes never once left her, and because of the way she was speaking you would think that she was just imagining the cloths on her. She wasn't. She was studying her, her stance, her visible attitude everything. She wanted to know about this girl. She wanted to know what he saw in her.

"What are you here for again?" Neji asked after refocusing on her. "And how did you get in here?"

"You said I could come by whenever I didn't understand something about a certain design. So I came to ask how to do this." She cooed while holding up the grey batwing jumper. "I don't want to make a jumper I just want to make a shirt but one with a batwing on it. The problem is that I…um… don't understand how to sew it in order to make it look like…this." She visibly shrunk under Neji's hard glare that grew harder and harder the more she talked. "And…" she continued. "I showed the lady at the front desk the pass you gave all of us back at the shop and she brought me to some blonde girl who took me up to your…r-room. Sorry, is today not a good day."

"Well…" he looked at Tenten. She was staring at Meme. Her brown eyes looked cold as she watched the girl that never failed to squirm under his gaze. "It really is-ˮ

"Perfect timing!" Tenten interrupted. "Actually I just came because I needed to talk to him, but it's all good. You two can go on. I can just-ˮ

"No!" Neji interrupted, startling both girls. He gave Meme a quick glance before running up to Tenten.

"Ten…" he whispered "I'm more than sure that this won't last as long as you think it will. You can just stay and help around a little then when she leaves we can talk. Okay?"

She looked at him then shook her head before walking over to a nearby chair. Meme watched her as she moved, then Neji as he smiled her way, or rather smirked._ What is it about her that he likes so much?_ She thought._ I mean, yeah, she is cute, but she's like me. She looks way too young for him. She's loud too, from what I remember._

"So" Neji began "The best way to learn how to do something is by what?"

"Copying ." Meme answered, her eyes never once leaving Tenten who was promptly ignoring her. "If I see a style that I like I should copy the way they made it first then apply my own style."

"Exactly. It's like writing in a way, when you're young you don't know automatically how to write. What you do is find a writing style that you like, copy it then later on find your own style that you're comfortable with."

Tenten looked up upon hearing "writing", her interest rising from just the sound of the word. Neji looked at her, a sly smile played at his lips before he refocused on the smaller girl in front of him.

"You write Neji senpai?" Meme questioned.

"No, but I do have a little interest in it. It's not like I spend all my free time writing, it's just that I tend to enjoy it as a pass time or something like that."

"Are you good?" She asked again, wanting to know as much about him as possible.

He shrugged before grabbing the jumper and throwing it at Tenten. "Go put that on." His face was now serious. Tenten simply stared, her eyes darkening the more she did so. "Please." Neji asked with a smile.

"For what?"

"Because, it's better for her to see how it looks on the person it was originally made fore as to how it looks on the hanger. Plus I want to see how it looks on you."

She said nothing after that. She just stood and walked off leaving the two in there by themselves.

"Is she a writer?" Meme questioned after she left.

"She wanted to be one."

"What happened?"

He shrugged again, looking off in a distance as he held out the cocktail dress. "Ask her."

_**In the rest room**_

Tenten sighed. It was too quiet out there for her. She didn't like quiet. Quiet meant that something was going on, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen between those two: the oblivious and the just plain shy. She couldn't say that she was jealous, that just wasn't her, but she sure as hell wasn't ready to let her only connection to a male go, not when possible feelings were finally starting to show, not to a high school girl that, outwardly, had no confidence but secretly did. In fact, she was so surprised that he didn't know that that girl liked him, that she herself wanted to tell him. It was obvious, the way she looked at him, the wild blush that covered her face every time he got too close or said her name in a pleased tone, the way her voice changed anytime their eyes met; she liked him. Neji was just too dense to see that and that's how Tenten wanted it to be, but leaving them alone meant that all of that could change, and that could be stopped, if she could just hurry up **and** change.

"I'm ready." She called out before stepping out of the bathroom, her hair looking even messier then before. "How is it?" she questioned. She sounded too pleased, but she could care less. The fact that nothing seemed to have been exchanged between the two was what made that happen. The girl had no expression, no fading signs of discomfiture, no incredibly happy faces or incredibly sad ones, just a plain, bored face, the face that she's been getting from her a lot lately.

Tenten returned the look when their eyes locked before she realized Neji had approached her. "What are you-ˮ

He pulled at the pins that held her hair in tight buns, allowing the soft brown locks to fall elegantly to her shoulders. A soft smile spread across his face as he watched her reaction change from anger, to a slow realization followed by quick embarrassment. "You're cute with the buns, but when your hair is down it gives you a more grown appearance."

Tenten stirred then shot a quick glance at that Meme girl and was completely thrown off track when the girl's face showed a look of awe, then curiosity as she played with her own red-purple hair that was tied up into her every day curly ponytails.

_What is she thinking?_ Tenten thought as she stared at the girl, all signs of embarrassment gone._ One moment she's glaring at me like I'm nothing, then the next, she's staring at me like I'm the worlds prettiest model! What the hell! This chick is confusing. Maybe that's why Neji could never tell that she likes him?_

"Is it ugly?" Tenten snapped. She was tired of the girls constantly changing expressions mainly because she would always try to interpret what it was she was thinking and it was giving her a headache by now. "Is that why you keep staring at me questioningly?"

"Huh?" she snapped out of her daze then looked back at Tenten, her head cocking to the side in interest. "No, it's just that…that I'm mesmerized by this. It's really cute on you, really it is. I thought it would look better in yellow, and here you are looking good in grey too, so I'm a little dumbfounded is all. I mean, just by putting your hair down, he made the outfit suit you so much better than it did with your hair up." She stared some more, turning Tenten here and there and watching, as she moved, her body curve comfortably in the jumper. "And the outfit suits you perfectly. You can kind of tell that it was custom made. No one else could wear this unless they have the exact same curves as you." She turned suddenly, grabbing her pencil and paper, as a happy look covered her face. "Can you hold your arms out. I want to draw how the folds look in every possible angle."

"Draw it small, but not too small." Neji finally chipped in as he played with Tenten's hair pins idly while he stared her down with feverish eyes.

"Hai, Neji senpai!"

Tenten looked up, her eyes daring the fashion designer to do something, anything to stop his student, but the way he stared back made it obvious that he wasn't paying attention to her needs. At that time his student mattered more, after all, this was going to affect her future career as a fashion designer. _Man, my arms are starting to hurt. Is she done yet? I want to get out of this, it's cold in here and this dress, shirt, thing…isn't providing enough warmth._

"You can put them down now."

She sighed, her arms flopping lazily beside her, brushing the soft fabric against her thighs, making her shiver in an awkward way. Neji saw this then smiled again, making sure to keep it short to hide it from Meme who would be more than glad to have seen it.

"Now can you hold them half way?" Meme chirped. Tenten sighed, but did so anyways. She was prepared for a long, time wasting moment, again, but was met instead with another demand. "Now hold one up and the other down all the way." She did so, her curiosity with the girl's sudden change in speed peaking in her chocolate brown eyes. She looked at Neji who shrugged, knowing what she was silently asking before she herself even knew. He mouthed the words "Ask her" before the girl looked back up, a please look dancing on her adorable face.

"I think I got it all down now. Can I see you in the rest of the outfits? This one's just for fun. I want to see how they look on you."

Tenten shrugged. She had a smile on her face, but she knew that that wasn't the face her inner felt. Her inner looked annoyed and angry, ready and willing for the girl to leave so that she could be let loose on Neji and all his…goodness.

_This is going to be a long night. _She thought.

_**1:00 am:**_

Tenten's never looked so bland before. She felt small, tired and dirty as she stood in the small elevator listening to the music. She was trying her hardest to not converse with the cheeky girl that stood next to her, admiring the work she was able to get done. Her rosy cheeks gleamed with anticipation as she flipped from one drawing to another possibly dying inside to get home to try out her new found interest.

Tenten looked over her shoulder, her interest rising being the nosey person she was. The jumper was the first thing she saw. It's batwing folds showing themselves eagerly thorough her quick effort at shading. The model was much skinner though, and the hair was short and black.

_Thought that was going to be me. I was the one wearing the damned thing._ She looked some more. The cocktail, that she said she wouldn't draw, was next and once again, the model was not her. the look was too girly with all the extra beads and jewelry added on, plus the hair was longer and the face seemed innocent._ What? When am I going to show up?_

"Do you like to draw?" Tenten asked.

Meme turned, her face was still dyed with eagerness as she comprehended what it was the girl was saying to her. "Oh yeah." Her smile faded. "I find it fun and easy. It'd a good pass time and it helps me with my designs. What about you? I heard you like to write."

"Yeah." Tenten smiled, happy with where the conversation was going. "I do enjoy it. I used to want to be on when I was in high school and college."

"What happened?" Meme suddenly asked. The question was hanging too long on the tip of her tongue and she was more than eager to get it out. "I mean, why didn't you continue? Why didn't you try to fulfill your dream? It was what you wanted to be, ne?"

"Yeah it was, but when I started out of college, I realized that I didn't have the money to get my books published, so I had to get a job and by then I still didn't have enough to get publicity, or to make them look the least bit interesting on the cover. That's when I realized how hard it is to be a writer, so I quit and focused on getting money and actually being able to live freely without the land lord of my apartment constantly breathing down my neck for money that I didn't have because I used it all on getting my books published."

Meme watched her, her expression unreadable due to her confusion. She didn't know what to say now because it did sound hard. She at least had publicity for being one of Neji's top students, so when she get's out there, her product would be bought because a.) It looked good and b.) Neji would have spoken about it to people he knew. She had it made. No one was there to help Tenten though.

"I would have bought your book." She suddenly cooed.

Tenten looked up, her eyes wide as ever as she stared at her in disbelief. She seemed to be searching her, looking for some unreal sign of a lie and coming up with nothing but sincere truth. Then she smiled, and it was so bright, so beautiful that Meme found herself admiring it, wanting to draw it to keep it near whenever she felt down. "Thank you." Tenten giggled as she looked back at the wall she was looking at before she spoke to her.

_So that's it._ Meme thought to herself as she stared at the back of Tenten's head, letting an awkward silence spill between the two._ That's why he likes her so much. She's so…original…_

"You're welcome." She smiled as she, too, stared off at the wall that surprisingly seemed more interesting than anything, aside from her smile.

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><p><strong>Again I apologize for the late update. All of them are technically overdue now. I blame BASKETBALL( that amazing sport).<strong>


	13. Yours or Mine

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to keep saying this?**

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><p><strong>AN: SORRY FOR THE WAIT**

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><p>Chapter 13: Yours or Mine<p>

Tenten caught herself wanting to get out of work soon, but the more she wanted to leave the slower time seemed to pass by. Every time she looked up at the clock it seemed as if it stayed on 8 o'clock forever. The only time it wasn't on there was when she forgot about it, remembered it randomly and looked up only to find that only thirty minutes passed. She looked at the clock one more time before sighing again after finding out that it was only 35 minutes after the hour. Time was not on her side. One more sigh left her before she focused back on the computer screen. It hasn't even been her lunch break yet.

"Calm down, Tenten." Essence called from her cubicle for once. "Time will keep carrying on. you don't have to constantly keep eyeing down the clock every 5 seconds."

"Yeah." Ikuya intervened. He had his normal cup of coffee in his hand as he passed by the two of them to head to his own cubicle thus finishing the "Sandwich Tenten" mission he does with Essence on a daily bases. "Why are you even so worked up in the first place? Or rather, who are you so worked up for in the first place?"

Tenten looked at him, staring into his dark brown eyes and seeing the thoughts in his head clearly through them. It's been several weeks since they unknowingly found Neji's soiled tux coat in her bag, and he still refused to forget about it. If it wasn't for his impatience he would have constantly pestered her every hour on the hour till she spoke. Thankfully both Essence and Ikuya have "patience issues".

"For the last time Ikuya, I'm not going to tell you."

"Tell me what, hon?"

"You know what?" she sighed, digging her hands through her hair once more before fixing it back into its normal position. "I'm not telling you his name, because there is no one to tell you about."

Ikuya scoffed causing Essence to look over like she normally did. "Tenten, you can't hide nothing form us. We know you too well. It's been nearly 5 years since I've been working here with you and with Ikuya it's been 3. So you might as well just tell us what's going on between you and this mystery man you keep running off to."

"Nothing's going on between us!"

"So you admit that there is someone." Ikuya chirped in.

"No. There is no one."

"But you just said that there was nothing going on between you meaning that there is someone."

"No! I as just saying that because there's nothing going on between...us…wait what? You two are confusing me."

"If you just tell us then we'd be out of your hair."

"I'm not telling you anything!"

"Is there someone you are secretly talking to, Tenten?"

"YES!" Tenten hollered, her anger finally spilling over with the two of them. They were thankfully silent after that, but they didn't go back to their work. They just sat there staring at her with blank expressions as if they couldn't believe what they were hearing. Tenten just sat between the two, ignoring them by typing aimlessly on her keyboard. "Well…" she finally spoke up "sort of. I like him, and I just found out that I did yesterday. I tried to tell him, but he had this…apprentice I guess, that was over his house before we got there. So I couldn't tell him about anything. I was actually planning on telling him today."

"Wait." Ikuya held up his hand up, a sign of him about to complain. "So this apprentice girl, is there anything going on between the two of them?"

"I don't think so. She seemed too innocent."

"It's always the innocent ones that you least suspect." Essence added in. on Tenten's other side Ikuya made a sound of agreement as he sipped his coffee.

"Essence is right. Did there look like there was anything going on between them? Did they look he least bit uncomfortable with you around?"

"No. He seemed pretty relaxed. She was kind of schizophrenic though."

"That's not a good sign." Essence sighed. She had now rolled her whole chair into Tenten's cubicle. "What else about her. How was she touching him?"

"She wasn't touching him. She seemed to try to avoid his touch. She did stutter a lot though, and every time she looked at me she had this determined look in her eyes, almost as if she wanted to surpass me in something. In fact I think she might like him."

Ikuya looked at Essence, who looked at him before focusing back on Tenten."Describe this girl to us, Ten."

"She has long hair I assume."

"Why assume?" Ikuya questioned.

"Because her ponytails were long. She had them tied up into two ponytails on the side of her head."

"Okay, so she's young." Essence mentioned.-(1)-

"What else." Tenten looked at them before looking back at her keyboard. "She was rather small. Almost my height but just a few inches shorter, and she had a small voice."

"So he's that type." Essence mused aloud more to herself rather than them.

"Anything else?"

"She would stutter every time he complemented her. And she blushed whenever he looked at her, even though he's rather passive when it comes to…that."

"She likes him."

"Did she look like she was going to say anything to him? Did you have to leave them alone at any point?"

" No she was mainly asking him questions on how to improve some…things, and yes I do believe I had to leave the room at one point."

"Not good."

"When you came back, how were they?"

"Quiet. They were looking at me mainly."

"Not good."

"Did you notice anything different about their attitudes, anything at all?"

"No. Why? You guys are starting to scare me."

"Okay so she didn't confess. No matter how stoic a man may be, no man can hide face that well from a sudden confession."

"Yes." Ikuya agreed. "He also seems to be clueless with emotions, so the only way he would know that either Tenten or that other girl likes him would be if they told him themselves."

"Guys?"

"So what do we do, Poppa bear?"

"So far, I've got nothing…hey why do I have to be Poppa bear?"

"Hello?"

"Because of the fact that I'm obviously more of a mother than you are."

"Weren't we talking about me, here?"

"Oh please, hon, the only thing remotely motherly about you is those two milk jugs you're hauling-"

"GUYS!"

They flinched then focused on Tenten. "Come back down to earth you two. I'm not getting any younger and-" she suddenly stopped then looked up at the clock. It was 10:15. Ten minutes after her lunch break.

She swore under her breath as she franticly grabbed her things and started out the office. "I have to go guys." She screamed before running down the hall.

"Good luck!" Ikuya yelled after her.

"Cause she might need all the luck she can get." Essence sighed.

Ikuya scoffed at her before laughing slightly as he slid into his cubicle. "Amen to that."

_**Later at Neji's office:**_

Meme watched as her sensei danced from station to station to examine the work done by his students. He seemed elegant almost as he weaved through their frantic hands and dragging cloth, while all the while still holding the toast he previously fixed firmly in his mouth. She didn't know how that interested her or how she ended up watching him occasionally chew at it before speaking to a pupil, she just knew that only the way he did it was intriguing to her. A hearty sigh left her mouth as she leaned her chin on the palm of her hand. A dreamy look coming on her face as she waited patiently for him to turn, to see her and the way she looked at him and to somehow know that she loved him.

"You're going to start to drool, Meme." Yuuya chuckled, picking the girls head up and waking her instantly.

"Y-Yuuya-san? What are you-?"

"He has a point there Meme." Kanae added. A broad smile spread across her face as she saw her little friend's clueless reaction. "You've been staring at Neji for some time now. He's busy now, whatever it is you want to tell him, I'm sure you can tell him some other time, ne?"

Meme's face suddenly grew hard as she stared back. Her clueless face was gone completely now and she looked serious for once in her life as she unconsciously bore holes into her friends face. "No." she finally said. "No, I can't wait. Because every time I choose to wait, that Tenten girl keeps showing up, and suddenly all of his attention is instantly diverted to her."

"Who?" Yuuya asked, cocking his head to the side and letting his brown locks fall beside his face near his emerald green eyes.

"Tenten. You know the girl with the…" Meme motioned above her head two circle like figures before letting he hands fall back down to her sides. "Her!"

Yuuya rose his head then, light shinning in his eyes before them for the first time before letting his head fall back down to the other side and allowing the color to vanish. He was still confused. "He obviously forgot about her." Kanae cooed as she watched the boy stare off into space: his interest noticeably gone.

"Figures." Meme sighed. "He's only seen her once, and that was a very brief look, too."

"You've seen her more than once?"

"Only twice, but nonetheless, I've seen her enough to recognize her as my enemy."

Kanae nodded then proceeded in finishing her touch up of her drawing of a dress. "Well you better hurry then. You never know when that girl will pop up. And right now, Neji is all ears for his students. So he'll have no choice but listen to you."

Meme smiled and was about to say something when a loud screech was heard from up ahead. It sounded like Lee, but she wasn't sure mainly because no one can make Lee scream like that. She turned, curiosity getting the best of her, only to find that same bun haired girl running through the previously closed doors and looking around, her face flushed from the cold and her eyes watery possibly from running against the wind. Her hair was slightly messy and her face was clear and pouring out emotions here and there in every which way as she stared doe-eyed at everyone that stared back, possibly looking for Neji. Meme's smile vanished the moment she saw Tenten's eyes focus in on him. She wanted to move to detour him from her path by doing something, anything, but nothing came to mind. She was at a loss.

"Neji." Tenten cooed, her voice sounding like velvet as she spoke his name, making him jolt physically. He turned towards her, bread still in his mouth, then smiled to his best abilities before stepping closer to her, and as Meme watched she couldn't help but notice the facial expression he gave Tenten and compare it to the one he occasionally gave her.

_Three times._ She thought as she watched with sad eyes, Neji lead her to his office._ She ruined everything, three times._ Meme sighed then turned in her chair. Kanae was still looking at the office doors as was Yuuya but his facial expression was more vivid with color and interest than hers. Kanae's was more of a disinterest look.

"Maybe she won't say anything."Kanae assured, patting Meme on her back softly before looking at Yuuya who was still watching the door, his expression falling to worry the more time passed on. "Maybe she'll coward out."

Meme smiled at Kanae but it didn't reach her eyes. "Thanks for the support, Kanae-chan, but I highly doubt she'd back out. She looked pretty determined the last time I saw her."

Kanae bit her bottom lip then opened her mouth briefly before snapping it shut and continuing on her work. She was going to say something, but she voted against it. She figured that nothing she would say could cheer her little friend up, so she just sat back down after moving away her short black bangs to see he picture.

After some time, Tenten stepped back out the office, momentarily catching everyone's eyes. She seemed happier. Her eyes carried this type of glow that wasn't there when she first walked in. Meme continued to watch her, as did Yuuya and Kanae, as Neji walked her back towards the shops doors.

Lee, who was a little ahead of the gang, stepped out of her way and she bowed slightly, an embarrassed look suddenly showing on her face as she apologized for something. He seemed to brush it off quickly as they moved on. Then, out of the blue, she fixed her gaze on Meme's staring figure. A smile, small sweet and content spread across her face as she bowed at her allowing her bangs to fall in front of her eyes. Meme flinched at this but smiled back anyways. She then focused her gaze on Yuuya and his stand just ahead of Meme and she stopped, turning he head sideways at him, before smiling gratefully and pointing at his picture. "It's cute. I like it: Real simple, yet classy. It's good."

Meme looked at Yuuya. A shocked expression showed on his face as he stared her down before a small blush appeared form nowhere. He bowed and thanked her quickly before looking away, avoiding everyone's eyes but mainly hers. Meme saw this and continued to stare at Yuuya as did Kanae; both girls shocked themselves from the boy's actions. They completely forgot about Tenten as she walked out and Neji as he came back in with more vigor than form before. They were more interested in the boy that stared out the closed doors where Tenten had walked through.

A distant look colored his eyes and he sighed one hearty sigh before sitting back down, limp and unmotivated, on his stole.

_What?_ Meme thought as she slowly went back to work.

_**Back at Tenten's Job:**_

She flopped back down in her less than comfortable work chair, suddenly missing the feel of Neji's office chairs, then turned back to her computer to start working again, when Essence and Ikuya looked over there cubicles with expectant faces.

"Well…?" Essence began.

"How did it go?" Ikuya intervened. "Tell us everything."

Tenten looked up at them, a large smile on her face as she twinned her fingers together. The two above her looked almost bulldozed over with excitement as they waited her obvious answer. "Well I did go see him." She began before turning to type in her password on her computer.

"And?" Essence asked.

"And…" Tenten made a face while reading an email before she designated it useless. She then looked back at her two friends with an even wider smile on her face. Their excitement was clear and they soon wouldn't hold it in any longer. "I didn't tell him."

"YES!" they both cheered, but that cheer stopped abruptly as realization hit them. "What?"

"I just couldn't tell him." Tenten complained, slamming her face into the palms of her hands. "I walked in with so much confidence, but the moment I saw him I just…I don't know…I lost it I guess."

"What the hell, Tenten."

"That Meme girl could have already confessed you know." Essence boomed.

"I don't think she did. She looked rather hurt as I left."

"So you think that she thinks that you confessed already?"

Tenten stared as if pondering on that thought, then slowly shook her head yes. "You better hope so, hon." Ikuya crocked as he rubbed his temples in frustration. "Otherwise, that girl would be one step ahead of you."

"…Yes…" she sighed "I know."

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><p><strong>FINALLY! I know that was what you guys were saying, but hey, I did tell you. I t was on my profile. You should have checked it out…or read the authors notes. So anyways, here's some info you might not have known:<strong>

**-(1)-When it's a question, it's Ikuya speaking. Statements were Essence and I think you already know which one was Tenten.**


	14. Yours or Mine Part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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><p><strong>AN: you guys probably hate me by now.**

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><p>Chapter 14: Yours or Mine Part 2<p>

It was another, normal day in the shop. People were rushing here and there in attempts to gather the needed material to complete their latest designs in time for the "test". Those that already had their fabrics were bussing themselves with fitting the pieces of cloth together on sewing machines or, if they were patient enough, by hand. Towards the front of the shop, Yuuya and Kanae sat quietly in their stations, drawing their second piece. Meme was nowhere to be found. They supposed she was simply sick, but aside from her not being there and Lee actually not bothering Neji constantly, the day was rather normal…and normal was deathly boring.

Yuuya sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Kanae was counting and carefully took note of what he would do each time he did so. First he sighed, looked out the window, then the glass doors, then at the clock before scratching the side of his head, gradually messing up his ponytail with every scratch, and he kept doing this, that is until Kanae finally grew irritated of it. "Okay!" she boomed, her pompous voice shocking everyone out of their quiet state, everyone but Yuuya, who was use to it by now. "Either seriously missing Meme or you're bored, because I've never seen or heard you sigh this much before. What's up with you today, Yuuya?"

Yuuya blinked then looked her way. He was giving her a rather nonchalant look as he stared with that unmistakably uncanny ignorance. Kanae stared back, but she looked more excited. It was probably due to her irritation to the previous quietness they were once in, but that was expected. Yuuya, on the other hand, was acting no different from his usual self: except for the constant sighing and eying down everything except his half-drawn picture of a dress, and for some reason, this only added on to Kanae's sudden bad temper.

When Yuuya showed no signs of answering her, Kanae huffed then turned back to her own work: The rest of the quiet time passed by with her promptly ignoring Yuuya while he continually sighed with every passing minute.

"It's not that I miss Meme" Yuuya finally whispered loud enough to be heard by Kanae. It was good twenty minutes after the question was asked which was why she didn't know right then and there what he was talking about.

"Oh." She sighed, putting down her drawing pencil and dragging her stool closer to him to hear him better. He, on the other hand, tensed to how close she was to him and scooted away a little till he felt comfortable again. Kanae didn't seem to notice this though. "Then what's up? You know you can always talk to me."

He looked at her, then back at the door, wishing that someone would come through so that he could lie about it in order to not continue with this…intervention, but, to his displeasure, no one showed up. "Well…you know, that g-"

Yuuya suddenly stopped, hearing the rushed sound of the cold wind blowing into the shop made him halt in the middle of his sentence, and for a moment he sat still, unbothered by Kanae's questioning hands. He listened carefully to the sound of careful but speeding footsteps grow louder the closer they got to him. He didn't move until he heard a small voice sound behind him, and a wide smile spread across his normally stoic face.

"Thank you, Lee-san." The small voice cooed, making Yuuya turn with a more than expectant look on his face. He thought about speaking to her, but that thought left him completely after he took on the appearance of the girl that stood in front of him, carefully unraveling the many scarves that groped her neck.

"Meme?" Kanae looked just as confused as Yuuya had as their little friend approached them with water eyes and a red nose and cheeks. "Hey guys. Sorry I wasn't here earlier, but just so you know, I won't be here long no way. I simply came for one reason; to talk to Neji senpai."

"No can do, sicky-chicky." Kanae blurted, putting her arms out wide, yet making sure to not touch the small girl out of fear of getting sick herself. "The finals are coming up soon and the last thing we need is for our beloved Neji-sensei to be sick because of a love-struck student who just had to see him every day. You're not seeing him today, Hime. You're going home, immediately. Understood?"

"What? But I-"

"Kanae's right." Yuuya's muffled voice came from behind her. She turned and faced him, surprised to see a medical mask covering his mouth and nose. "He's the one grading our work, and I worked too hard to not have my pieces graded because of a fever."

"But I really need to see him, now before it's too-"

"Hey Lee." A chirpy, small voice came, muffled from the sound of the wind and a possible scarf covering part of her mouth. "Is Neji in?" she questioned.

"…late." Meme's voice fell as she watched the bun haired girl poked her head above the wall that hid the stairs to the main floor shyly. She looked around before finally stepping up, nodding at Meme, Kanae and Yuuya then smiling at Yuuya's finished dress that she remembered complementing that other day. Color rose in Yuuya's pale cheeks as he bowed at her once again, hiding his face from the world. He didn't get back up until he heard Neji's deep baritone voice sing her name, and the door was firmly closed behind the two of them.

"Oh…"Kanae began, trying her hardest to not see her sad friend's face. "That's why you needed to see him. Sorry, Meme."

"It's alright, Kanae. You didn't know she was out there, so…yeah. Besides, she confessed to him already remember. I just wanted to get this out of me without her being around, because that'll make it awkward."

Kanae watched her with caring eyes before letting them fall back on Yuuya who was looking in the direction of Neji's office, a solemn look taking over his young face, making his features unexpectedly pop. "Yuuya." She uttered with a hint of questioning in her voice. "What were you going to say earlier? Something about a g….girl perhaps?"

A smile reached her lips as she awaited his response, but when he sighed once again and looked away, completely ignoring her presence, she growled and threw her hands up in protest, but said nothing. She just went back to angrily drawing her army style outfit. Meme, after staring at the closed door for a while beside Yuuya, finally gathered her many scarves, rewrapped herself up then headed out without a word to anyone. Yuuya sighed again, one kid on the back of the room raced to the coat rack and headed out the door. Some other guy ripped angrily at his sketch pad then started again at a new one, drawing steadily with an angry yet concentrated face on. Aside from those few disturbances, the room was once again quiet. Kanae dealt with it this time, letting the boring quietness take her in along with everyone else.

A few moments later, the door to Neji's office opened and both he and Tenten stepped out sharing relaxed smiles. Their soft laugher filled the eerie room, waking most students up, but they didn't care all too well.

"So I'll be seeing you then, Tenten?"Neji suddenly asked loudly as she opened the door to head out, wincing at the cold feel and finding herself not wanting to leave. She looked over at him, smiled then walked off without a word of confrontation, but Neji didn't let that falter him. It was as if he already knew what that smile meant.

"The fabric stations will be open for another ten minutes. After that you will have to by your own fabrics." He yelled as he walked back to his office with his hands deep in his pockets. "Good luck" was the last thing he said before the doors closed.

Kanae, who had been watching him the whole while, frowned then went back to work on her drawing, speeding the process a little as she moved along. She didn't stop until she heard the shifting sound of a stool from above her. She looked up from the corners of her eyes and saw Yuuya, who else, staring off in the distance at the door. He didn't sigh, like she thought he would, but he still looked hurt nonetheless.

She stood, staring at him with sad eyes, but he ignored her and reached up, gripping his loose shirt in his slender hands. It took her a while to realize that he was holding the area above his chest, and another while to realize why.

_He likes her? _She thought

_**Back at Tenten's Job:**_

"Well?"

Tenten barely had enough time to sit down before she was bombarded with questions from her "friends". Both had a rather expectant smile on, but neither on seemed to fully trust what they thought. They had every right, too.

"I couldn't." she answered, hanging her head low so as to not see them. They huffed then walked back over to their cubicles. She looked at either wall, surprised that they would actually keep their promise to "ignore her if she didn't tell him" true then stifled a laugh as she continued. "But I asked to see him again. Set a date and everything. I'm going by his house tomorrow."

"Really!" essence squealed, poking her head over the small walls.

"Essence! We were supposed to keep quiet. Remember, no talking to the coward."

"Oh! Right!"

"…Oh I can't take it! Did he look surprised? Was he glad?" Ikuya suddenly burst.

"Was that Meme girl there?" Essence added in, deserving a thorough headshake from Ikuya. "Yes that is all very important. Tell us everything."

Tenten laughed then turned to face them after making yet another face at another email that she quickly deleted. "Yes. He did look rather surprised because I asked him out of nowhere. Yes he did seem to be happy from my request, and yes, Meme was there, but she looked rather sick when I came in. when I left she was gone. I guess she went home." Tenten shrugged it off then turned back to her computer, making faces at the emails then deleting a handful of them. "But that doesn't concern me, though I do hope she gets better soon. She looks too frail to be looking that bad." She sighed, leaning back in her chair to think about her appearance.

"One more question." Ikuya said, catching her attention. She didn't respond, but her eyes spoke for her instead.

"Who's emailing you to make you make a face like that daily and delete it before even opening it?"

Tenten blinked then looked back at her computer screen. She saw Essence from the corner of her eyes, rolling up in her rolling chair to get a better seat. She knew she lost. They noticed her actions the whole time. There was no longer a use to act as if she didn't so such a thing.

"It's just an ex. He won't stop bothering me."

"An ex?" Essence questioned.

"Dang, Tenten. What did you do to him, to get him sprung over you that bad?"

"Better yet, when did you have boyfriend to begin with? Why weren't we informed on this?"

"It's nothing, Essence. I swear, and nothing Ikuya. Get your mind out of the gutter. We were only dating for…2 weeks I believe. I ended it after he lied to me."

"Seriously? Over a lie? Men lie, Tenten." Ikuya complained.

"I know, but this one, in particular, took it to mind that skipping out on a very important date for a photo shoot with his brother for some single people's magazine was the right thing to do if it meant getting money."

"Too serious, Tenten."

I don't care what you guys say. I will not be speaking to that buffoon. I have no time for someone of his immaturity."

"Whatever." Essence moaned, stretching her arms and fingers as if she did some hard work. "You're just overly picky. He could have been a really nice guy for you, too."

"Oh really?" a poorly sarcastic voice came from behind her.

Essence, being the dense girl she was only agreed with more vigor in her voice. "Yes, really."

After a moment of quietness she opened her eyes to see that both Ikuya and Tenten went back to work with worried faces on.

"Essence." A deep voice whispered, blowing air into her ear and making her jump with a loud squeal. She turned and frowned immediately at the cocky face that looked down at her, his dark eyes gleamed with eagerness as he reached down and pinched her ears harshly. She squealed again then jerked her body away from him before he continued with the rest of the pinches. It's happened one too many times to her and she refused to have her boss harass her in such a way again.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned.

"I'm the boss." He began. "It's only natural that I'm here, checking on my employees, seeing if they were working and not _slacking._" He put extra emphasis on the last word as his eyes squinted at her. "Good work Tenten…Ikuya. At least I have two trustable workers here."

"I'm trustable. I was just taking a quick break."

"Your computer is not even on, Miss. Essence."

Essence's face fell as she scooted past him, making sure not to touch him, and peered over into her cubicle. Sure enough, she forgot to turn on her computer. Her cheeks began to flare up, but she kept her cool, grabbing her chair and rolling it back to her desk to start her work.

"Essence" the boss began. 'Don't let me catch you doing that again, understand?"

"Yes Sir Mr. Hoshiyama."- (1)-

With that, the man walked off, leaving the three alone once again.

"You guys could have warned me."

"Why?" Tenten chuckled. "He's your boo aint he?'

"Ew! No."

"Why not. You two would look cute together." Ikuya pondered aloud, adding on to Tenten's reason to laugh.

"No. He's super weird. His voice doesn't suit his appearance at all. It's so creepy."

Tenten laughed again then grimaced the moment she looked at her emails. "Leave me alone." She cooed under her breath as she, once again, deleted yet another email.

_**At Temari's house:**_

"Would you leave her alone?" Temari growled. She was irritated with her brother constantly typing away on his computer, sending Tenten emails that never got responses. "That 'who is this' response was going to be your only response from her. She doesn't want to speak to you. In fact, she probably frowns every time she see's your address in the inbox and instantly deletes it."

"Shut up, Temari!" Kankuro yelled back at her, catching his sister off guard, but that off-guard-ness was dismissed instantly the moment she realized what he just told her.

"What did you just-"

"Temari." Gaara's sudden voice stopped her and she instantly calmed down but left the room nonetheless, leaving the two younger boys alone.

"She's right you know." Gaara said. His voice sounded nonchalant, but Kankuro knew that he really meant well.

"I know." Kankuro whispered. "…I know."

_**Later that day, back at the shop:**_

"You what?" Neji's loud voice echoed through the empty shop, bouncing off of every wall and making its way back to him and Yuuya who stared back at him with determination in his dark eyes.

"You heard me." He began. "I'm stealing Tenten from you."

"You can't do that."

"Why not? It's not like you two are married. Besides, "he grunted as he tossed the heavy load of fabric that he managed to get in time over his shoulder "It's not like you seriously like her. You don't seriously like anyone. So I'll be doing her a favor."

"Whoa, wait." Neji demanded, holding his hands up out of frustration. "What do you need her for anyways?"

Yuuya looked at him. His eyes looked dull and bored as he sighed and turned away from him. A triumphant look covered his face as he began walking off. "That's simple. It's because I like her, Neji sensei. That's that."

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><p><strong>Yeah, sorry for the lateness. Understand that I am trying. My life is getting heavier and heavier. But yeah…anyways. R&amp;R, that keeps me motivated.<strong>

**-(1)- Mr. Hoshiyama- Tenten, Ikuya and Essence's boss. His voice is deep and breathtaking but he has a strong baby-face, hence Essence's fear of the man even though he's like ten years older than her.**


	15. Yours or Mine Part 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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><p><strong>AN: I WAS WAITING FOR THIS CHAPTER!**

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><p>Chapter 15: Yours or Mine Part 3<p>

Saturday: Her off day, her time alone with Neji. The long awaited day has come, and Tenten was practically jumping out of her skin. She couldn't wait to see him, to see the man that made her think about a future, the man that made her skin crawl with excitement every time he touched her, brushed against her innocently, or even smiled her way. She couldn't wait to tell him how she felt. The feelings she held for him were brimming at the edge and were ready to burst, but she managed to keep herself at a minimum when it came to her pleasure from simply seeing him.

"Hold still, Tenten." Ino barked her way, snapping her out of her jittery state.

"I can't help it. I'm a little excited." Tenten squealed in response.

Ino smiled at her friend. She was proud. In all of her years of knowing Tenten, she has never seen her in this type of funk when it came to a man, and for a moment she thought she "rolled the other way", but know with Tenten's overexcitement towards this mysterious male, her thoughts changed. "So who is he anyways? Is he someone I know?"

Tenten thought on this, recalling the time Ino practically cried the moment she saw his smirking cut out hanging over a sale rack in Fashion Assassin's. "I'm not telling."

"Oh I can't know about your secret crush but you I can help you get ready for it?"

"Pretty much." Tenten sang kicking her feet in the air as the stylist spun her around to examine his work. Then with a gritty sideways smile, he spun her back around and began taking down her hair.

"Her hair is so thick." The man praised, tousling her hair here and there then watching it slowly fall back into place. "When she first came in with those god awful buns I thought this was going to be harder to handle, but you surely proved me wrong, hun. Your hair is as clan and kept as Ino's."

"I love my hair." Tenten beamed. "I only keep it up like this cause I'm normally in a rush all the time. I guess after I finally got the hang of things, tying my hair up like this became more of a habit than anything else."

The man nodded thoughtfully before turning back to his station to grab some more supplies. "Okay, since you always keep your hair in some kind of upkeep I'm going to have your hair down with some soft curls. It's a very simple do, but I think the curls will bring out your facial features."

"Meaning…"

"It'll make you look older, Tennie." Ino cut in.

"Oh."

The man laughed as he waited for the curling irons to get hot. "How long have you two known each other, Ino-hun?"

"Hm…I met her in 7th I believe. She was one of those delinquents that went around fighting everyone, her and Temari. We became friends after the both of them protected Hinata from some of their juvenile friends."

"Since then, Temari and I have been clean. No more delinquent days for us."

"Though Temari looks to be heading down that road when it comes o her brother."

"Ugh! Don't mention him."

Ino scoffed then looked up from her magazine. "Tenten you can't keep avoiding him. You know how he feels for you, and I'm more than sure that he's still grieving over the whole lying and skipping out on our important date, thing."

"I don't care. Besides, there's someone else I'm interested in now, remember." She cooed, pointing up at her hair in the man's hands.

"Sounds scandalous." The man smiled as he let a curl fall softly down her back.

"Please" Tenten stated as plainly as she could "It's about as scandalous as the next girls."

"Um…" Ino began. "You're pointing at me."

"If it's like Ino's than it's defiantly worth hearing." The man teased as he finished his fourth curl. "If you don't mind my asking, who's the poor sap?"

"Kankuro."

"Who?"

"Exactly!" Tenten bellowed. "He's a Nobody, not that I care all too well on status, but he is what he is."

Ino laughed a surprisingly loud laugh that made everyone's heads turn. She was waving an apologetic hand through the air as her other hand, still holding the magazine, covered her smiling face. "I'm sorry!" She choked on her laugh as she tried to explain her sudden outburst. "It's just that…as soon as you said Kankuro was a, nobody, I read this page in the magazine, and it's an article on Kankuro and that was exactly what they said about him too. It caught me off guard."

"Let me see. Let me see." The stylist half-jumped keeping focused eyes on the hot object in his hands. "I want to see this Kankuro guy for myself."

Ino passed the folded magazine, stifling laughter as she smiled at Tenten with approving eyes. "Oh wow. Tenten-hun, do you want to know what they said about your ex?"

"Lay it on me."

"Sabaku no Kankuro, younger brother of Sabaku no Temari and older brother of Sabaku no Gaara, was and still is a fairly unknown character in the life we live in today. Ever since he `realized' himself, he has been focusing on becoming a famous fashion designer. His competition; Hyuuga Neji…yeah, that was a bad decision for him. Not only is he unknown, but he is also currently unemployed; mooching off of his more successful brother and sister. Don't worry ladies, we're not dropping in our hottest statuses, he was just the only way we were able to get our next Bachelor in."

"…Wow." Tenten giggled. "Talk about public humiliation."

Ino smiled as did the stylist and Tenten. Did she feel bad? Was there sympathy felt for this lesser being? No. she still hated him, still found displeasure in seeing his emails or even hearing his name called.

"Well it's a good thing you let him go. You could have been the next person he mooches off of, hun."

"Thank you! Finally, someone who understands my methods! "

"Please, you hadn't have thought of that till Honey said it."

"So your name's Honey."

"Oh no. Ino just calls me that. My real name is Yoshimi, but you can call me Honey too if you want."

Tenten smiled then sat back in her chair as she stared at the back of the magazine with curiosity. On the back there was a girl with long, straight brown hair that flowed softly down her back, stretching her arms out before a group of gorgeous, minus one, men that were either laughing or just standing ignorantly about the others.

_Déjà vu? _She thought as she studied the many faces, finding Neji's troubled one that seemed to be glaring at the smiling Lee that had his strong arms draped around his shoulders. She smiled at it, remembering it thoroughly, then moved on to the glaring Uchihas, then the arguing artists, Deidara and Sasori, then to Gaara, Sai, Shino, who was surprisingly pretty attractive under that dark style, and Shikamaru and Choji before her eyes suddenly snapped back to the girl in the yellow dress. – (1)

"Who is this girl?" Ino asked, obliviously to Tenten's relief. "She's in like every spare picture on the last page."

"She's on the back too." Honey noted nodding towards the image Tenten was now glaring at. "Her hair is stunning. It's so shiny and well kept. She must be a looker herself to have her hair that well kept."

"I wouldn't say that. I mean, look at Tenten." Ino joked, putting her hands up in defense against what should have been Tenten's attack, but when she didn't get what she thought was coming she lowered her eyes and shot her a questioning glare. "Tenten…what's up? Are you ok? Did you just hear me?"

She blinked, shaking off whatever feeling of fear she was getting before glaring back at Ino. "I'm sorry what? I wasn't paying attention."

"Oh…then nothing. It wasn't important anyways." Ino laughed, hiding her guilty smile from her confused friend. Beside her, Honey was smiling as well.

"Ino." Tenten growled; a warning to the blonde.

"It's nothing, really1 it was just a joke. It meant nothing."

"It had to have meant something if it got the both of you smiling."

"No." Ino laughed, snatching out her phone as it rung loudly. "Sakura said she's just around the corner. She'll be here in a little while to help with the clothes and other necessities for this matter."

"Don't try to change the subject, Ino!" Tenten laughed as she was spun around swiftly in the chair. Her eyes instantly widened as she gaped at, what she hoped was, her own reflection. The curls that lifted with every movement like a feather in the wind, the straight then coiled duo thing that was going on, everything! It was all perfect, beautiful and so fitting. Why hadn't she thought of doing this long before?

"Well?" honey asked as Ino paid the hefty bill. "How is it? Do you-"

"I love it!" Tenten squealed, jumping out of her chair then spinning to see the back of it for a meticulous check up of her new style. "It's so cute! Honey you are amazing!"

"Oh stop. You're embarrassing me, hun."

Tenten laughed giddily then spun and gave both Honey and Ino a tight hug. "Thank you both so much! I can't believe this1 you guys are the best."

"Okay. I get it now please let go, I kind of can't…can't breathe."

"Oh sorry. Hey, Ino, where's Sakura now?"

"Right here!" Sakura cheered, bursting through the doors in a strongly familiar yellow dress. Tenten stared, terror dying her eyes as she watched Ino walk up to the pink-haired girl questioningly.

"Isn't that-"

"So you saw the magazine too? Well yes, this is the mysterious yellow dress that the yellow dress girl was wearing."

"How did you even get that? It hasn't been released yet."

"Not telling."

Ino rolled her eyes in defeat then waved at honey before walking out with Sakura following. "Come on, Tennie. We have shopping to do. You want to look appealing to your date, don't you?"

Tenten blinked again, pulling herself out of her second funk of the day before running off after them wordlessly. She had nothing to say. Not after that heart attack, not after almost being found out by her friends again about being _**the**_ girl in the yellow dress.

_Why did that Akimitsu guy put those pictures in?_

**Later at Neji's apartment:**

Neji stared in disbelief at the blushing brown haired girl whose name danced eagerly about his head. He didn't speak. In fact he hadn't said a word since she called out to him. He simply stared with hungry eyes that raked her whole body, from the top of her head where two messy buns used to be to the bottom of her heeled-up feet, and he had to admit that he could easily grow addicted to this version of Tenten. She wore a tightly fitted dress, navy blue below the bust and a creamy-white color above with the zipper in front, stretching from the top, that wasn't completely zipped, to the bottom where the tight fabric met her thighs a couple of inches below her waist line. A navy blue half jacket, unbuttoned and almost as taut as the dress, covered her upper body, protecting her from the cold up to her elbows only. Below her, she wore a pair of brand new stilettos, creamy in color much like the top of her dress, which added to her height making her head only slightly under his. All in all, she was breathtakingly stunning.

"Wow." He finally said, leaning into the door hedge for balance. "You look…wow!"

Tenten smiled thankfully then stepped closer to Neji making him move to the side a little to let her in. he made sure to only give her a certain amount of room to have her rub against him just enough for him to be able to see if the zipper was real and not just another decoration like fake pockets. Needless to say, it was a real zipper. There was nothing fake about it.

"Are you hungry or thirsty maybe? I can get you something, anything."

Tenten smirked at how he was acting. She had to admit that it felt good to be on the receiving end of someone's undeniable attention, and that the way Neji was acting around her now just made things all the better. "No. I'm okay. I just want to be here with you." She cooed, patting the spot beside her on the couch with a smile. "Come on Neji. I want you right by me."

Neji started with expectant eyes then reached into the fridge to pull out a bottle and pour him a drink. _This is going to be a hard long night._ He thought as he took a swig without taking his steady eyes off of her even as she crossed her legs delicately, flashing him unknowingly. _Literally. – (2)_

**Let's skip ahead a couple of hours:**

"Neji stop!" Tenten half laughed as she pushed a rather drunk Neji off of her again. "Seriously, stop I –" She stopped midsentence and let out a stressed moan as Neji pushed against her. In the midst of her confusion he somehow managed to get that tight dress to lift from her thighs to her waist without even undoing the zipper, and he was now taking advantage of this by pushing against her roughly, wanting access without getting any.

"Neji seriously. I'm getting mad." She moaned/growled which only made the man more eager to get inside of her, to feel her once again. Just like the other times, but this time with a little something else added to their strange concoction.

"Neji!" she screamed, finally getting him off of her. His face was noticeably paler than naturally, but his cheeks and nose was a nice shade of pink from having one too many shots of sake and his tongue hang unattractively out the side of his smirking mouth.

"Hm?"

"Hm? Don't you, Hm, me. You know why I stopped you!"

"Come on, Tenten." He laughed, burying his face in her neck forcefully, making her fall back down to the couch. "Why…w-why are you acting like this all of a sudden? We used to always do this, 'member?"

Tenten scoffed and was about to say something against him, but he moment she opened her mouth, Neji slipped his tongue in, catching her off guard. He pushed his self against her again getting a strangled moan again. He pushed one more time and she gripped his shoulders in attempts to make him get off, but that only made him more aggravated with the fact that they both still had clothes on. So he slipped an unsteady hand down her leg till they reached their destination, but that was the last straw. That gave her the energy to finally push him off, making him fall back on the floor.

"I said stop!" She yelled as she fixed herself before grabbing her jacket and heading to the door, angered with the way things turned for. "You're drunk, Neji, and, though I honestly never thought that you getting drunk was possible, I refuse to talk to you in this kind of state."

"Where are you going?" Neji called, regaining some of his sanity after that fall.

"Home. I can't be here when you're like this."

"Why?" he screamed, blocking her efforts to escape. "Tenten we used to always be like this. Messy and uncaring, what's new about it now? Why won't you let me…?"

Tenten stared at him in disbelief, temporarily forgetting about his drunken state, before ruthlessly dragging her hand across his pretty little face, knocking him aside and walking swiftly out the door. Tears ran down her face as she ran down the halls, nearly running into someone on her way to the elevator. "Sorry." She muttered as she kept her head down and her feet moving until she was in the safety of the elevator doors where she let loose and cried.

**In the hallways:**

Meme stared in the direction of the girl that disappeared behind the elevator doors and couldn't help but notice the croak in her voice, the sheer disappointment that ran shivers up and down her spin when she wasn't even the one who should want to cry. She thought about trying to find the mysterious girl to try and comfort her, because she knew disappointment to that extent way too many times, but she thought against it, figuring that she wouldn't even find her with the way she was rushing.

"Tenten!" a deep voice cried, making Meme shiver with excitement. She didn't even have to turn to know who he was, but who was it that he was calling?

"Meme?" Neji called, making her turn innocently. "Meme have you seen Tenten. She just ran down here, and I really need to find her."

Meme stared, her eyes wide with caution as she recalled the girl with long, silkily brown hair run past hr in a fit of anger and grief. _That was Tenten?_ She thought.

"Well I just saw someone run into the elevators not too long ago, but I'm not sure if that was h-"

"Thanks." He cut in, barging right past her. "I'm sorry I can't help you know. You will have to come an-"

"No!" Meme screamed making Neji stop and stare even as the elevator doors opened and closed again.

"…Meme, what's -"

"You're what's wrong! " She yelped. "All you do is give your undivided attention, heart, and everything else that matters to me to that Tenten girl! When is it going to be someone else's turn! She already has you so why does she have to steal you at ever given moment!"

"…Meme…what are you talking about?"

She looked up; her cheeks slightly red from her anger other than her embarrassment. "Didn't she confess to you?"

"Who?"

"…Tenten? Didn't she tell you her feelings?"

"What? No…wait does that mean that Tenten…loves…me?"

She blinked. "So you mean to tell me that this whole time you didn't know about her feelings for you?"

"No. does it sound like I did?"

_I can't believe this!_ She thought. _This whole time I thought she had already confessed to him. I thought the both of them were seeing each other because of said confession, but in reality she hadn't even gotten her feelings off her chest either! So that means…_

"Look Meme, I really have to find Tenten. I need to-"

"Wait." She ordered, grabbing Neji by one of his belt loops. "Just wait…I have something I need to tell you, Neji sensei."

"Well make it quick cause I-"

"I will, because Neji, I-"

**In the Hotel Lobby:**

_I love you. I love you stupid Neji. _Tenten thought as she stepped out of the elevator doors, running into yet another person, a man this time based off of the firm grip he had on her preventing her from falling. "Sorry." She sniffed with her head low.

"Are you okay?" the man asked, pulling her head up softly with his fingers.

Tenten stared back without showing any signs of looking away from the dark, purple eyes that watched her with concern. Something about them was just too familiar to make her automatically pull away.

"Nothing." She finally looked away. "I'm fine."

"Sorry but your face seems to be saying otherwise. Are you sure your fine? Would you like me to buy you a drink?"

Tenten looked up to this comment and saw, for the first time, the boys, not mans, face. He was young, probably no older than 18, and very good looking with his long black hair.

"I swear I'm not trying to get you drunk." He joked, all seriousness showing o his face though, which mad Tenten laugh. "Oh there's a smile. But, no, seriously, let me buy you a drink. Just one. Then I promise I'll leave you alone."

"Fine." She sighed, racking a quick hand through her now messy hair courtesy of a Neji Hyuuga.

The boy smiled, reaching out his hand which she reluctantly took, then lead hr to the complementary bar. "Give her anything she wants." He smiled, showing his ID and getting the waiters consent to buy.

_So he's older than I thought. _ She thought with a raised eyebrow.

"Thanks." she finally sighed, catching the _**man's**_ attention. "The drink and you swear not to drug me or to secretly have the waiter on your side and have him drug me."

"Yes I wear." He laughed, cocking his head back in a simple way.

Tenten smiled then sipped gingerly on her drink, but she never once took her eyes off the man. He looked too familiar, and it irritated her that she couldn't remember exactly who he was. "I'm Tenten." She suddenly announced getting yet another confuse look from her host. But that faded rather quickly as he smiled back at her. "Yuuya."

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><p><strong>OH SNAP YUUYA! NO YOU DIDN'T! And Meme, where did this sudden burst of confidence come from? Looks like you've gotten yourself in a bit of a pickle Tennie.<strong>

**- (1) -yes that was her. Akimitsu was taking secret pictures of the "bachelors" when they weren't posing in front of a camera. If you do not remember, then please refer to chapter 8 or 9. -_-**

**- (2) – hard and long! Get it! HUH?...you do get it, ne?**


	16. Jealousy's a B Part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry. (**** -3 ****)**

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><p>Chapter 16: Jealousy's a B- Part 2<p>

She sat there staring at either her phone or her computer in disgust. One had lots of purposely missed calls from Neji, another had thousands if not more deliberately unread messages from Kankuro and the more she scrolled through either the more she found herself hating both objects. She wanted to break them, shatter them both into many pieces so that she wouldn't be forced to see such monstrosities all the time, but she knew just as well as anyone else that she couldn't afford to replace a High class company's computer and find a new job while she was at it. The phone she could handle, but she figured it was such a hassle to order a new one simply because she forcefully broke hers, plus, knowing Neji, she was bound to have to end up breaking that one as well. So, with nothing else to do but frown, she sat back in her chair and sighed as she waited for yet another call or email to pop up. For a while, nothing happened so she turned to face Essence and Ikuya. Sure enough, they were watching her with careful eyes. Neither knew why she was ignoring all her calls, but the emails weren't new, yet they still hadn't asked. Something's up.

"Who's Butthead?" Ikuya questioned suddenly, making Tenten look at her phone. It was on silent, no vibration needed, and sure enough the caller id was saying Butthead and she dared not answer. Instead she just grimaced and slid end call bar over till the screen went red, signaling her hanging up.

"No one important." She answered before finally pulling the battery out.

"I think not." Essence cooed with a hint of danger in her voice. "He must be something considering the fact that you saved his number no matter how much you hate him and the fact that though you ignore the call, you never deleted the number."

Behind Tenten, Ikuya shook his head in agreement. "So," he continued. "If you really and truly hate this man, then delete him from your contacts like you did with email-guy."

Tenten blinked at them and pulled out her phone. The black screen stared back at her blankly before coming back to life when the battery was placed back in its rightful place. After a moment of waiting she maneuvered to her contacts list and instantly found Butthead/Neji with ease, but as her finger hovered over the delete button, she found it hard to actually press down on it and get rid of the nuisance for good.

"Well?" Ikuya began. "We're waiting."

"I…I can't." she sighed, placing the phone down sadly as she sat in shame before the two.

"If that's the case, then that must mean that this Butthead is the guy you were crushing on."Ikuya stated.

"And that Butthead messed up last night on trying to thoroughly impress you and instead angered you and now you don't want to hear from him almost as much as you don't want to hear from the other guy." Essence added smugly.

Tenten sighed yet again and slid back into the small triangular space she was designated to work at. "Yeah, sorta'. I mean I do still really like this guy. He's kind of got an impression on me."

"Does he fit your standards?"

"NO! That's why I want to know why he…why does he do this to me? How does he get me to act like this, to feel like this about him, when he comes nowhere near to meeting my standards? I'm pretty sure that the only thing he fits into is the fact that he's independent. What am I going to do with that?"

"Love and cherish it."

"Ikuya!"

"He has a point, Tenten. This guy obviously feels for you since he's called so much, plus you feel the same about him. So you might as well try to patch things up, ne?"

Tenten looked at her then at Ikuya and sighed. She was about to speak when her phone rang yet again. This time everyone's heads went towards the device, but Tenten was the only one who could answer. So why was she just staring at it like it would kill her if she touched it?

"Tenten."

"Yeah."

"You going to get that?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, okay….When."

"Soon."

"By then the phone will-"

The call ended, making Essence and Ikuya glare at Tenten who was still staring at the now silent phone. "Tenten!" they screamed.

"I'm sorry! I just can't do it. I really can't talk to him right now. He might hate me for all I know."

"You will never know if you don't answer his calls."

"I know but…I just can't. Not now. Maybe some other time."

They sighed and went back to work. It was obviously time to ignore her, but she didn't care all too well, even as her phone rang again.

**Later at the Shop:**

"Tenten!" Lee yelled, pulling her into this extremely tight hug for reasons unknown. "Oh my gosh! Tenten, you're alive. We thought something was wrong with you? We thought that maybe you were…were kidnapped."

"What?" She gawked after finally regaining her breath. "Why would you think something like that?"

Lee's smile faded and he looked over his shoulder as a soft blush formed on his face. "W-well, Neji…you had him pacing all about the shop and his office because you weren't answering his calls. He was worried and had everyone thinking that something happened to you. Some of the students here were pretty scared too like-"

"Tenten!"

She looked up at the familiar voice and found herself smiling brightly at the dark haired boy. His purple eyes shining back at her with just as much sincerity. "Yuuya!" she screeched, jumping up the stairs to pull him into a tight hug which he gladly returned. "I knew I saw you from somewhere but I thought it would be weird if I had asked you and it turned out that I was wrong, cause then I would have to be all like; Oh, well you look like someone else I know. You know how awkward that would have been?"

"Well you should have asked. Though I am glad you didn't because then I wouldn't be seeing this smiling face of yours now would I?"

Tenten smiled then blushed and stepped past him to his station the first one there was around the elaborate wall the stairs simply had to have to observe his work much like she has been doing every time she came here. She was aware of his eyes, those dark piercing eyes, watching her from behind and she couldn't help but smile at that as she recalled the moment in the hotel lobby. That sweet breathtaking voice, cooing her name over and over with enthusiasm so that he could thoroughly remember her name, and the way it brought life to her once lifeless features. The random and stupid conversations they had and how every response, reaction, and chuckle he made, made her laugh. The dumb responses to her even dumber questions that made the both of them laugh so loud the bartender had to ask them to leave before they caused anymore issues for the people sitting around them. The reaction he had to that request was priceless and now that she thought back on it, it made her laugh again.

"What are you thinking about?" Yuuya asked, coming up beside her to watch her more closely.

"Last night." Tenten answered. "I still can't get you screaming at the bartender out of my head. You were acting like you were drunk."

Yuuya laughed and so did Tenten, but her laugh wasn't as excited as his was because of her wondering eyes. She was looking for Neji and just realized that she was standing at Yuuya's station a little longer than she intended. She gripped at the paper she held in her hand and sighed.

"Looking for Neji?" Yuuya questioned, tilting his head in a concerned look. Tenten smiled up at him and shook her head then went back to looking. "He's over there, by the cloth rack."

Her head snapped in that direction and her smile widened as she finally fixed her eyes on the man she was looking for. But the smile fell all too quickly as she watched Meme and Neji smiling and laughing together in a small corner. Her hands were on his arm in a simple flirty way and he wasn't moving it. He was just smiling at her; I mean really smiling at her, and this angered Tenten just enough to make her turn in a haste as if she was caught seeing her parents argue.

"Meme confessed to him yesterday." Yuuya started, caching Tenten's attention. "I've never seen her so confident before. It's like she's a totally new person ever since she got that off her chest…you know we thought you had already confessed to him, Neji I mean."

Tenten looked up, a slight blush dying her cheeks as her eyes searched through his, wondering how he knew such a thing. Yuuya smiled down at her with a guilty look. "We kind of watched you every time you came in her. You always looked really happy whenever you saw him here. It was like you skipped right over everyone here and went automatically to him. You never really noticed us much till after you left his office. So we kind of figured that the two of you were…seeing each other."

"We're not, but you're right. I love Neji. Just he's too stupid to notice." She growled while looking away from Yuuya, wanting to leave now and tear her note up like the child she looked like.

"Ouch." Yuuya winced. "I wasn't expecting you to say that you loved him so easily. Guess that kind of ruins my chances, ne?"

Tenten froze and looked back at him. Her eyes were wide with curiosity more than surprise as she stepped closer to Yuuya's unmoved and confident figure. He smiled down on her yet again and cocked his head to the side a little. "Don't you know when someone's confessing to you, Tenten?"

She blinked and opened her mouth to protest but was stopped when he placed his hand over her mouth. "Before you say anything else, I am 21 so I am a lot older than you think I am, Miss Tenten."

"You're 21!"

He shook his head then looked back over at Neji and Meme who were still laughing happily by each other's side which, in turn, made Tenten look back as well. She frowned their way and made to turn around when Yuuya stopped her again. "So, now that you know my real age" He began without making real eye contact due to his blushing. "Is it okay if I can take you out sometime…maybe?"

Tenten's head snapped to his face which only made him blush more and try to hid more as well. She looked back at the smiling "couple", frowned then held out her hand, poking Yuuya in his side and getting a jolt from the action. She took not of it. "Give me your phone." She ordered.

He did so then waited patiently as she typed something in his phone before handing it back to him. I'm free Saturday. Call me around 3."

"Okay!" Yuuya smiled.

Tenten smiled back at him before walking off and leaving the store.

**Same time with Neji:**

He was glaring ever spare chance he got at the back of Yuuya's head as he worked happily on his project he was sure to fail only die to hate. He saw Kanae frown at them just as much as he has a couple of times but found it unnecessary and unimportant so he ignored it most of the time. The rest of his time was spent laughing…sort of…with Meme as she chatted up with him about endless things he would occasionally comment to. God, she was a talker, which surprised him a little.

_Maybe it's because she's nervous?_ Neji thought. _Either way, she's gotten pretty confident, touching me like that. Her hands so light I almost forgot it was even there._

"Isn't that funny?" Meme asked suddenly. That was when it occurred to Neji that he wasn't really paying any attention to her. He was just smiling as if he was. "Yeah." He chuckled before looking off at Yuuya again.

"So, um, Neji Sensei..." Meme began, her voice suddenly growing smaller than usual which made him refocus back on her. "I was…I know girls usually don't do this and all but um…I was wondering if I could maybe…or we, really, could maybe go out…sometime. I mean if you're busy, I won't mind and all. I was just-"

"I'll go." Neji interrupted his face hard as stone as he slowly focused back on Yuuya. After no response he looked back at Meme who seemed confused. "On a date with you. That is what you were asking for, right?"

She shook her head then slowly backed away as a smile finally began forming on her bright face. "So I'll come around 3, maybe?"

"Sure." Neji agreed as he stalked off towards Yuuya's station to possibly gripe at him on some mistake he could have possibly made. "See you then."

"K."Meme smiled. "Bye." And with that she went back to finding material for her outfit.

_Think you can just up and steal my girl? _Neji thought as he grew closer and closer to the boy. _Well think again._

"Yuuya, the sides on your dress are uneven!" he began.

**With the Girls (seems so long since I've done this, huh):**

"So let me get this straight." Sakura began. "The guy that you wanted to impress turns out to be a real douche bag."

"Bu I still really like him." Tenten added.

"And the guy that randomly cheers you up that same day you ran from the guy you originally liked turns out to be some guy you've seen and complemented thousands of times before." Temari added.

"And he's younger than me."

"And he asked you out on a date?" Hinata finished. Ino was quiet for once, dumbfounded by the weight if it all so the others were the only ones who could review Tenten's troubled life so far."

"Wow."Ino finally spoke up. "So what did you tell him? The other guy, I mean."

"I gave him my number and set a time. I'm not going to be available Saturday."

"…Wow." Was Temari's only response. The rest of them were quiet, with nothing else to tell their friend.

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><p><strong>Sorry for the late update. I was feeling lazy and I had two other stories that were due before this one, but no worries. They're really close to being done. This one…not so much. So yay more reading *cough* <strong>_**and reviewing **_***cough* for you! **


	17. Fun?

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine…**

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><p><strong>AN: sorry again (¯ꞈ‾) for being such a jerk and not updating in like centuries, I shall give you an unnecessarily long one. I think I might have to split it into two chapters.**

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><p>Chapter 17: Fun<p>

She sat quietly just outside her apartment doors, swinging her feet back and forth, falling close to injuring her heel every time she pulled back again. She shivered when a sudden gust of wind had passed by and hugged her arms together, looking around excitedly yet again. She kicked out, growling when one of her house slippers fell off her feet, revealing to any random pedestrian her unpainted toes. Quickly, before hopping off the railing, she pulled her pajama pants down a little farther until they covered her feet completely then pulled down her shirt. _There, now I don't have to get it back immediately._

"You're seriously not going to get your slipper?" a deep voice questioned, a sense of enjoyment hinting at his luscious voice.

"It wouldn't have happened had you not taken so long." She shot back, hopping suddenly over to her ignored slipper. "Seriously Yuuya I thought you had stood me up for a second." Tenten giggled.

"I am only late by 5 minutes." He smiled. "How long were you out here?"

"Not long." Tenten lied as she walked over to him, examining his dark, dark purple pajama pants and his black over the shoulder shirt. "Cute." She jeered, smiling devilishly as she looked up at him.

He blushed just as she thought he would then looked away in attempts to hide the fact. "Not like yours are any better." He quickly shot back, noting to her baby pink pajama pants, dotted here and there with winged puppies sleeping carelessly on dingy white clouds. Her top matched.

"Whatever. Where are we going anyways?" she quickly asked, changing the subject.

"That's a secret." He smiled as he walked over towards a shiny silver Nissan Skyline GTR - (1) - and opened the door. "Get in." he smirked, holding the door open for her.

But she didn't move. She couldn't move. The sight of the car was overpowering. The blue headlights, the near chrome color of the car, the black tinted windows, the shinning rims, everything! It was too much, so much so that she couldn't find it in her to sit in such a beauty.

"You like it?" he asked, walking up to her and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's a gift from my overbearing parents. It's nothing big."

"Nothing Big!" you make my car look like shit. How is this nothing big? You are freaking rich and I never knew this. How come you didn't drive this to class instead of taking the bus?"

"Okay, first off, ow. Second, I'm not rich, my parents are. Third, I ride the bus for Kanae's sake."

"Huh?"

"I rather not explain. It's a long complicating story."

"I have time to listen." Tenten sung as she danced to the fancy sports car.

"Really, Tenten, it's not that big of a deal."

"Well you brought it up, and now I want to know. So tell me."

He sighed then slide in the driver's seat and looked at her, his eyes low and sad, then looked away as he drove off. Tenten steady stared at him, a goofy smile across her face as she sat there with her tongue slightly out the side of her mouth.

"Okay!" he yelled, pulling up at a stop light. "Okay, just stop looking at me like that. You're making me nervous."

"From just staring at you."

He blushed, an act Tenten thought was quite cute for a _man_ his age. "Well yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

She laughed, but stopped looking nonetheless. "So why do you ride the bus for Kanae."

"Cause she likes me."

"What?" she yelled, snapping her head back at him, making him loose his handling on the stirring wheel.

Yuuya looked at her, his nerves on ends as he watched her stare, amazed at what he said. "Well not now at least not that I'm aware of. See this is why I didn't want to tell you. It's hard to explain. Especially to you when you keep looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"That! Every time you…look at me I feel…I don't know, giddy."

"So you want me to stop looking?"

He looked at her, a slow smile spreading across his face as his eyes explored what little of her body he could see. "No." he answered slyly. "I just need to get used to it, I guess."

Tenten smiled then sat back in the car to watch the street lights and signs pass by, and for a moment, a soothing quiet settled between them as they drove on. Yuuya would steal occasional glances at her before he refocused on the road. "So." He began. "She liked me, but not at first sight or anything like that."

She looked at him, her eyes curious now that he continued with the explanation. "So did you two know each other for a while before then?"

"No not really. I didn't meet her and Meme till I joined the class. Even then I didn't talk to them till a good month or two after Meme came, and she came three months late because of school. Anyways, I meet Meme through Kanae when she was trying to get Neji to like her. She was…using me, I guess, but I didn't really care. After a while I just got used to her, plus I had no choice, after the first testing I got first chair, she got third and Meme got second."

"Did Neji know she liked him?"

"Neji knew because she made it obvious, but he knew either way. He just didn't like her all too well and he made it evident. In fact, when she played liking me, he congratulated us. At the time, I didn't know what he was talking about, and quite frankly I didn't care."

"Really!" she laughed. "You just didn't care that he thought you two were dating."

"Hey now, I was a focused student. The only thing that mattered to me was getting and keeping my first chair."

"And you're doing a mighty fine job at that."

He smiled a smooth smile, showing a perfect row of white teeth. "Anyways." He laughed her comment off. "After we…established our relationship status we were still cool. She still liked me then, and at first it was awkward. You know, for a whole week, Meme and Kanae were avoiding me, ignoring me and all that because I turned down Kanae when she asked me out."

"You got what you deserve."

"Really?"

Tenten laughed, rocking a little in her seat as they drove on to outside the city grounds.

**With Neji:**

Meme stared in amazement at Neji's car. It was a 2007 Toyota supra, sleek and black; a car that was surprisingly fitting for his style. She looked up and down at the car then took a quick run around before she came up to a rather amused Neji.

"You like?"

"Like? I love it. This car is amazing. It suits you perfectly! It's all cool and sleek and professional and cool! This is not even what I expected. I was thinking about something smaller and cramped maybe, but this is better."

"I don't like small cars. Fast ones yes, but I rather them be of normal size."

"That's cool." She beamed, looking up at him with expecting eyes. "I wish I can afford things like this. My family barely made enough to get me into your school."

"Guess you're lucky then." He smiled, slipping in the car after she was securely in. "Your parents really love you, huh?"

"Yeah. What about yours?"

"I wouldn't know, though I like to think that they did. My parents died long ago. My mother passed giving birth to me and my father died when I was four. Ever since then, I've been raised by my uncle with Hinata and Hanabi."

"Oh." She half smiled, looking down at her knees as she sat there. She felt dumb now for asking such a thing. She hadn't known of course but she still felt bad nonetheless, and she desperately wanted to change the topic to ease the tension she caused. "Well how was life with them? Your uncle and cousins I mean."

Neji tensed, gripping the stirring wheel tighter than normal and Meme saw this. She stammered with her next words, wanting to say something but couldn't quite get it out properly. In the end, she just sat there awkwardly with her head low and tears forming at the brim of her eyes.

"It wasn't the best thing." Neji replied after what seemed like hours of quietness, making Meme jump to the tremble his voice sent through her. "My uncle wasn't the nicest man ever. He tended to… act like a father at times but I guess that was because he saw his brother in me a little. Then, when he realized I wasn't him, he would turn violent. I didn't like that, so we would go back and forth yelling and screaming at each other, hating each other for the longest. It was always like that with us. At one point I thought I wanted to take over the Hyuuga Corp., but then I would have to go through with him all day. I worked there as a secretary for most of my senior year in college before I realized that wasn't my calling."

Meme stared as he talked. Her eyes were wide with interest at every word he uttered, and she felt obliged to writing his words down just so she could read over them whenever she felt the need to get closer to him.

"Anyways…" Neji continued with focused eyes on some distant past. "Though we hated each other, his daughters, Hinata and Hanabi were fairly found of me. They even called me Nii-chan a lot. I guess it's because I don't look that different form them and I was there with them since before Hanabi was born."

"You looked like them?"

"Well yeah. Our fathers were twins thus their children looked similar."

"Okay." Meme giggled, felling glad that the situation had turned around.

"What about you?" Neji suddenly asked, catching the girl off guard.

"Huh?"

"What about your family?"

"…Oh! Well um…where should I start?" She paused, placing a finger on her lower lip out of habit. Neji smirked at that. "Well for starters I'm not an only child. I have a younger brother and I honestly believe that he's the favorite. My parents weren't blessed with the income to support the both of us but after my brother was born they couldn't let him go. He was a total hit with the other women my mother hung with and the men father hung around were infatuated with him the moment he crawled in and picked up a drill and somewhat used it the right way."

"How old is he?"

"Hm? Well now he's about 9, but he's so spoiled that I keep forgetting he grows older too."

Neji chuckled, a sound that sounded more like he was smacking his lips. "So how did you manage to afford getting into my school?"

"Mother's friend, I believe her name was Chika, she gave me a little bit of money and helped me find a job to pay for the rest, but the deadline was approaching sooner than I thought it would, that was when they gave me the rest of the money. Hey where are we going?" Meme suddenly asked.

She was looking out the window as she spoke. Her eyes were wide with curiosity as she watched the flashy people stride by on the less than occupied streets, flaunting their perfections and imperfections as if neither of them was nearly as grand as they were as a whole.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out." He smirked, suddenly finding enjoyment in his little game with her.

**With Tenten**

"You change slow, Tenten." Yuuya chuckled from behind the curtain.

"You're already done?"

"I make clothes like this for a living, Tenten. I have to know how to get in and out fast."

"Whatever." She called, pulling back the curtains as harshly as she could. The reaction she got was priceless and one of the ones she was going to save in her memory bank. Yuuya never looked so red a day in his life, and the process it took to turn his whole face that color was all the more memorable. It started at his neck then slowly crept its way up to his cheeks and it kept moving up until his whole face was color of a tomato.

"You like it?" Tenten asked, felling confidence radiate the more embarrassed he got.

"I-it looks g-good."He stuttered, looking away before she could see him fully. "It looks really good on you."

This time it was Tenten's turn to blush. Complements rarely came her way, and she wasn't completely used to them yet, especially from someone as young, or rather young looking, as Yuuya. She looked away for a while, trying to gain her composure again before facing him again, a light blush still tinting her cheeks. "Thank you." She smiled. "You look good too."

Yuuya smiled in response then fixed his collar before holding out his hand for her. "I thank you, Mademoiselle."

"Ah!" She played along, raising her head a little higher as to look down on him. "A gentleman. I was under the assumption that no such man existed any longer."

Yuuya smiled, showing so much emotion in his eyes that he made her blush again. "You'll be surprised."

She took his hand, felling her heart rate increase when his fingers, long and delicate, brushed against the back of her hand. "You really do look very handsome in that Yuuya. It gives you a more professional appeal you know?"

Yuuya looked her way before looking at himself. He was wearing a laurel-green button up with the buttons not fully buttoned of course. The cuffs and rim around the buttons were black and underneath he wore a plain white-T. His dark purple pajamas pants were replaced with black skinny jeans that fit loosely around his thighs, and his shoes were classic slip on vans that revealed his white socks underneath, something that added on to his image instead of taking it away. And, to top it all off, a black hat sat atop his head proudly slanting to the side thus completing his outfit.

"Thank you." He smiled, finally felling himself grow accustomed to Tenten's complements. "You look amazing by the way."

"Didn't you already say that?"

"No. I said that it, as in the outfit I personally picked out for you, looks really good on you. Nice try though."

Tenten laughed then twirled gaily for Yuuya to see. He liked it of course and a smile spread across his face instantaneously. She looked his way then spotted a mirror just behind him and couldn't help but stare at her reflection. Staring back at her was a beautiful girl in a champagne colored skirt, all frilly and fluffy looking, that stopped just above her knees with an auburn colored belt that tied in the front with thin leather strings that were beaded at the tips with clear diamond shaped gems. She wore a blue jean looking button up with rolled up sleeves tucked under the belt and her feet were decorated with gladiator sandals that matched her belt. Her hair was still messy from lack of attention, but that aside she could hardly tell who she was anymore, though she did like what she saw.

"And the finishing touches…" Yuuya smiled, teasing her hair a little with his fingers, flipping certain pieces here and there till he was satisfied. "There. Perfect in every way."

She smiled, just as he wanted her to, then stepped closer to him, planting a quick kiss on his cheek before refocusing on her reflection. "You really think it looks good on me?" He heard her ask, her voice fading in and out due to her constant twirling.

"Yeah." He cooed with a wide smile breaking at his lips, making his tired eyes look lively and brand new. "Then again, anything you wear is…perfect."

"Is everything okay?" a chirpy person asked, placing her hand delicately on Yuuya's shoulder. He looked at it then frowned before moving up to Tenten to take her hand, steadying her from her momentary daze. "No, but we would like to purchase these outfits, please."

That was when the pressure hit. The atmosphere changed drastically and Yuuya and the clerk seemed oblivious to it, they seemed utterly uninterested in Tenten's sudden facial change, and that was something to ignore. She was doing a great amount of frowning, looking constantly between the both of them as he handed her his card. Her frown grew considerably when the woman introduced the price; "that will be 8.000¥, please."

"What the hell, Yuuya!" Tenten screamed, throwing all her furry on him once they left the shop.

Yuuya looked at her, seeing how angry she was then cocked his head to the side. "It's a designer's shop, Tenten, besides that wasn't that much."

_What?_

"What?" she lashed, catching him off guard. "Yuuya, that is a lot of money, for clothes at least. Geez do you spend that much on clothes on a daily basis?"

"No, only on special occasions."

"And this is a special occasion?"

"Yes." He answered, turning on her completely. His eyes were hardened now, a clear sign that he was getting annoyed. "This is a very special occasion, because it's my first date with Tenten-san."

She flinched to the sound of her name coming out of his mouth, cold and hollow. Plus the formality added at the end caught her completely off guard. She didn't like it and wanted so desperately to fix the situation, but she didn't know what to say for once. Yuuya, the cold eyed _man,_ made her baffled and completely at a loss for words, and that was hardly done.

"Tenten." He sighed making her look his way though she wasn't sure when she began looking at her toes. "I'm sorry for snapping on you like that. It's just that…I really like you, so of course I would naturally think that this is a special occasion. I bought that outfit due to my own selfishness, and I do apologize for not confronting you first, but that doesn't mean that I'll take it back."

Tenten looked at him, a small blush forming on her cheeks before slowly finding her toes more interesting again. _He's mad._ She thought. _This is my entire fault. I'm such a horrible person._

"Just think of it as a gift." Yuuya continued, lifting her head up till she was looking at him, wide eyed and everything. "That way you'll have something to remember this day."

He smiled, warming her up with every second that passed. That was when she noticed it. Yuuya was a charmer. Whether he was aware of it or not, he was without a doubt one of those types of guys, but his was warmer, more caring. That was probably because he was unaware of his talents, and Tenten didn't know if she liked that about him or not because she knew another someone that happened to have the same talent, but he was completely aware of his abilities.

"Let's go, Tenten."

"Okay." She whispered a sound barely audible to the man in front of her.

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><p><strong>Yeah it's going to be a double chapter. Anyways hope you like it. Sorry again for the delay.<strong>


	18. Fun? Part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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><p><strong>AN: OHHHH! You weren't expecting it to be this soon were you? Ha!**

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><p>Chapter 18: Fun? Part 2<p>

He was laughing. He never laughed, especially out in public, but this girl, this little, 3rd year girl, was too much. He hadn't expected to be sidetracked the way he was now. He had a certain plan, a specific path he wanted to follow dutifully, but her eyes looked so amused and her face looked so interested, that he let her roam wherever she pleased. And, every time she got to into something, she would find her clumsy side stumbling out to play as well. Last time, she somehow managed to get herself tangled in bands of confetti strings that fell about her when she walked into a shop as the 1000th customer that day. She got a 75% off gift card and her own choice of any full outfit on a display. This time she was desperately trying to catch the squirming puppies she accidently let out when she leaned over the railing too far.

"She your date?" the manager of the shop asked. No hint of anger was in his voice. Amusement was the correct term for his mood as he watched Meme hastily pick at the puppies that gathered around her feet, loving the smell that came for them.

"In a way." Neji chocked back another laugh as he spoke. "She asked and I said yes. I have to say that I wasn't expecting this from her, though. I can actually say that I'm having…fun."

The man scoffed, obviously not hearing Neji's brief pause and continued watching as Meme yelped when a puppy yelped.

_I'm having fun?_ Neji asked himself as he continued to watch, a more serious look dyed his face then. _I'm actually enjoying myself with Meme. But she's so young. God I feel uncomfortable with this situation now._

"I got him!" Meme yelled triumphantly, lifting her trophy, a fluffy white Japanese Spitz puppy, in the air before placing him in the newly fixed cage behind her. The moment the pup touched the ground a round of applause roared throughout the shop, making her freeze out of embarrassment.

"Congratulations, Meme, you somehow attracted a crowd worth a million yen to watch you I your hassle." Neji smiled as he walked her way.

She blushed wildly then buried her face in his chest. He looked down at her, surprised by her action then stifled another laugh as he patted her back comfortably. The fleet sweater she wore that day was covered in dog hair of all types of colors, and her jeans looked the just as bad. Even her hair was in disarray.

"Calm down, they weren't laughing at you…though I was."

She squeezed his side-her hands hardly reached around him- then squeaked a sound that sounded dangerously close to tearing over. "It's okay Meme. They enjoyed you. They were laughing with you, not at you."

"I wasn't laughing." She looked up, staring him in the eyes for a while before she awkwardly let go of him, realizing what she was doing. "I-I wasn't l-laughing." She stuttered this time, looking uncomfortable all the more. "I'm sorry, Neji sensei. I'm making this a horrible time, aren't I."

"Not at all." Neji replied straight on. "This is honestly fun. I'm enjoying spending time with you immensely. Are you not having a good time?"

Meme looked at him curiously before looking back down. She honestly wasn't having a good time embarrassing herself in front of the man she loved. She wasn't having any fun constantly tripping or loosing he balance randomly when walking the streets with him. She wasn't enjoying the repetitive stuttered sentences that she never finished ever time he asked her a question. And she especially didn't like the fact that he was laughing at her form the little mishap that happened not too long ago. She didn't like anything right about now. Nothing was appealing to her and she could feel the depression sink in.

"Take this." Neji ordered, making her look up. A chocolate banana creep was inches away from her face and Neji was the reason for why whipped cream was now on her nose. She looked at the white for a moment before whipping it off then grabbing the crepe excitedly, forgetting completely about what happened not too long ago.

"Thank you." She smiled, looking about the new scenery. They were no longer in the pet shop. Hell, they weren't even in the district anymore. They were at a park, and the lights, glitter and expensive items were far becoming a gathered bunch of bright things and nothing more. She looked around again and saw that they were alone. Completely alone…and it was getting dark-the honey yellow color in the sky was proof of that. She gulped.

"Sit." Neji ordered again, patting a spot next to him on the ledge of the water fountain.

Meme listened, and sat attentively away from him, making him laugh. "I'm not going to do anything to you, Meme. You're way too young for those kinds of things."

She looked his way just as a heavy wind blew past her, making her jump right into his arms for warmth. He chuckled at her action not knowing what he was doing to her. He wasn't even aware of her though as he went into deep thought while all the while she was frozen against his side. Another wind blew past her and she shivered, sinking herself farther into his chest, so far in that she could smell him, his natural scent, his shampoo and his favorite cologne all together, and she loved the smell.

She looked up out of embarrassment, a wild blush dying her cheeks as she watched him, but she wasn't pleased with the outcome. Neji wasn't looking at her. He wasn't even aware that she was so close to him. He was too far in thought to recognize what was going on around him. Meme frowned at this. She continued to stare but he didn't show any concern, making her blood boil.

"Neji." She cooed, catching the side of his face lightly then turning it to face her. He stared at her then with big eyes, feeling shocked from the sudden contact, but he let his usual self take control soon after. "Pay attention to me." She cooed her eyes low and lethal to men like Neji.

But hey, she got his attention, a little too much though. She never intended for him to watch her in such a way and now all her confidence, all the energy she used to force him to look her way, was thrown out the window as a wild blush covered her face the closer he got to her. She thought about closing her eyes but the heat from his breath inches away from her face made her mind swirl and her eyes furious with mixed emotions, and before she could realize what was happening, she heard a splash.

"What the hell!" Neji screamed as he struggled to get up. Water was falling in his eyes every now and then and his shirt, once white and crispy, was now clinging to his chest reveling his undershirt.

Meme opened her eyes, though she wasn't aware of when she closed them, and watched him with captious eyes as he finally stood up to look at himself. He attempted to look up, but his hair was in his face which made him have to push it up in order to see her clearly. "Why did you push me?"

"Y-you were t-trying to k-k-kiss me, so I-"

"Wait…" Neji interrupted her, holding his hand up in protest as he let what she said sink in. "I tried to kiss you?"

Meme shook her head, feeling a little stupid now for not letting him do so anyways. She watched as Neji shook his head in an apologetic way. She watched as he spoke, but no sound came after it to her. She knew he was talking, but she just couldn't hear him. She was instead staring with cold eyes, lowered lower than the last time, confusing Neji as he sat back down beside her.

"Meme?" she finally heard him, but her expression hadn't changed. She was still staring before she shook her head and looked away. He eyes were now tired and distant. "Meme what's wrong?"

"You…"she stopped, taking in a deep breath before she continued. "You were thinking about her weren't you?"

**Back with Tenten**

No matter how much fu she had that day, she always found the time to look away from him. She always started staring off into space randomly when there was a long enough silence between them or whenever she found herself alone for a moment. She always found the time to place _him_ in her current moment. She always made _him _show up whenever she least expected him to, and she just couldn't stop it. She just couldn't get him to leave her mind. And right now, as she watched Yuuya pose delicately for a magazine cover a friend was shooting, she couldn't help but bring him back into her line of vision.

"Thanks Yuuya!" the chirpy girl behind the camera cheered as she jumped into his hands. He caught her instinctively, but let her go soon after realizing what he had done. "I would have been so out of luck had I not seen you then."

"How did this happen again." Yuuya complained as he walked over to Tenten. He smiled when he saw her sitting patiently behind the camera.

"Tsubaki-san was supposed to pose for the picture" she began "but he ran out on us when Satsuki yelled at him for constantly hitting on her."

"That sounds like something Satsuki would do."

"Shut up Yuuya. Shouldn't you be attending to you girlfriend by now?"

Yuuya stopped; his face grew red with embarrassment as he spun on the girl. "She's not my g-girlfriend!"

"But you two are dating though ne?" Satsuki cocked her head to the side as she spoke.

"Well, yeah but she's not-"

"Yuuya" Tenten began, felling devious yet again. "You're so mean. You haven't even introduced me to your friends."

He blushed again and made to speak but nothing came out. Instead he just stood there with his head down in attempts to calm down while the girls around him laughed.

"I'm Ruka, Yuuya's cousin. We used to hang out all the time when our parents were really close and he would pick out the clothes for my little sister while I took pictures of her. So we're kind of like a dynamic due or something." The first girl with curly black hair and blue eyes smiled.

"I'm Satsuki, Ruka's favorite person next to Yuuya." The second girl said while she examined her nails.

"And I'm Kiyo." The last girl with reddish-brown hair said, lowering her face as she spoke.

"I'm Tenten." Tenten smiled back, making them stare at her with wide interest.

"You're really pretty Tenten."

"Yeah we all know that, now can we please go." Yuuya cut in, his face serious as he pulled Tenten away.

"Oi, Yuuya wait1 I was talking to her you know." Ruka yelled after him. "Tenten wait I have something for you."

Tenten stopped, pulling Yuuya to a stop much to his discomfort. She smiled back at him then faced Ruka once again as she walked up to her, holding out a picture. "It's a keep-sake." Make sure you frame it and keep it on your desk always because one day, Yuuya will be famous as both a model and a fashion designer."

"Ruka! Ugh! Come one Tenten, it's getting late."

"By Tenten, Yuuya! Hope to see you again!"

"What was that?" Tenten asked as she studied the photo of Yuuya. It was a nice picture. He was smiling and so were his eyes and he never looked so young before. All in all it was a beautiful sight to see with his hair loose around his shoulders and his big hands propping up his head as he stared directly at her.

"You mean with Ruka? She's always like that."

"Hm." Tenten moaned as she opened the door for herself and slid into the front seat of the car. Yuuya watched her before slowly walking overt to his own side. But once he got in her face was distant. She was staring off again and he could tell. She wasn't really looking at the picture anymore. She was looking past it, seeing something else.

_Or someone else._ He thought as he started the car and drove down the road in silence, knowing all too well who she was thinking about.

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><p><strong>Well, that's the end of Fun?. Did I surprise any of you? Did I anger any of you? If so then I'm sorry. I seriously didnt mean to.<strong>


	19. Introduce Yourself

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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><p><strong>AN: YEAH SUMMER BREAK! …I need a job.**

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><p>Chapter 19: Introduce Yourself<p>

It was days like these when Kanae wished she had stayed home. She could normally deal with Meme and her problems, but that was because it was Meme and her issues were obvious, but she could never, not once in her lifetime, handle Yuuya's problems. He would never answer her questions, let alone recognize her existence, he would be gloomy all day and she didn't like that, and he wouldn't talk at all. Sure he hardly talked to them to begin with, but he at least greeted them. This morning however, both he and Meme walked in at the same time with their heads hanging and their eyes tired from god knows what, sat down at their designated stations, then sighed loud enough to make the whole room feel their grief.

"Um." She said, felling a little awkward with the two. "So I take it the dates weren't as perfect as you hoped it was?"

Beside her Meme shook her head somberly as she sat up and gathered her material. "It was perfect." She smiled though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I had the time of my life."

"Same here." Yuuya added as he sat up and got to work as well. "Granted that it wasn't exactly what I had planned it to be, it was still great. I've never seen a smile like hers before, and n matter how many times I got her to smile, she still always found the time to stare off into space and think of…him."

"Ditto. I'm on pins and needles here. I mean, I managed to get him to smile for me and yet he still thought about her. i had his attention 50% of the time I would say."

"Same here. I mean, throughout the whole date I could easily say that she phased out a good 5 times; after 3 times I just stopped pulling her out of them. I didn't know what to do anymore."

"Hn." Meme grunted in agreement, ending their brief explanation, and leaving Kanae more confused than the last time.

"so… I take it you don't like them anymore?"

"No!" Meme suddenly yelled, her cheeks flushed a different type of red than the usual.

"Are you insane? Why would I give up because of something so trivial?" Yuuya piped in.

"I still love Neji, and I always will. Nothing will change that. I just have to try harder!"

"Tenten may be stuck on one guy, but that doesn't mean that I will give up cause her minds occupied. It just means that I have something to fight for now."

"I'll make myself the top priority!" they both yelled, cornering Kanae.

"Okay! Geez, sorry I asked."

They watched her for a couple of minutes longer before Yuuya ended by going back to work with a fire in his eyes now. Meme continued to stare, but the look was softer now, more normal compared to the other. She smiled at Kanae then stood and walked over to her, patting her head before heading towards the back where the cloth was.

"I'll be back, Yuuya." Kanae said as she followed Meme to the back.

He didn't respond, though she expected that, and she paused a little before leaving, empty handed. She sighed as she walked into the room, her mood no longer hyper. "What is it, Meme?"

"You still like him, ne?"

No response, she expected as much though. Meme smiled at her friend then walked over to her with a handful of cloth. "It's okay, Kanae. We're best friends, remember? You can tell me everything and I'll listen."

Kanae watched her with wide eyes as she walked off, smiling triumphantly, then promptly fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands. She didn't cry. Crying over Yuuya's relationship with another girl was pointless and it always put him in an awkward position with Meme, and the last thing she wanted to do was see him uncomfortable or miserable because she selflessly cried over him to Meme, thus, making her ignore him. So she just sat there, trembling as she tried to hold everything back, as she tried to stop thinking of him and her together, as she tried to push back her feelings that never once failed to remind her of how bad she wanted him to feel the same way back. She sat there, shaking hysterically in attempts to forget everything the way she always did when everything threatened to spill over.

"I don't." she told herself. "I don't like him. Not anymore. He already turned me down and we agreed that we could just stay friends. I'm happy. I like the way things are now. I do not like him. Not like that, not anymore."

She stood, shook herself thoroughly before fixing her skirt, checking her hair, makeup and nails, before walking out empty handed and a little down casted.

**With Tenten**

"Ugh!" She yelled, throwing her hands into the air dramatically. She never felt so frustrated before, and with her best friends of all people. She knew it was stupid to bring the picture of Yuuya to her job, and she deserved the many questions and flirtatious looks the picture got from both Essence and Ikuya, but she honestly thought that it would be safer to take it with her to lunch so that she could drop it off at her apartment on her way back to work, but that proved to be an idiotic action as well because they attacked her with questions and comments of all kinds the moment she told them who the boy was. The main ones being; "This is Yuuya?" "He's hot!" "He looks like a freaking third year in high school!" "Is he a model or something?" "Did you kiss him, yet?" and, her favorite, "Can I have his autograph?"

"Really guys? I would expect this from my coworkers but not you."

"We can't help it." Ino began, fanning herself with her napkins.

"We were not expecting someone like that." Sakura smiled warily, felling tired after something so pointless.

"What's up with you, Hinata?" Temari asked, bringing everyone's attention to her. "You've been dazed ever since you saw the picture. Was he too overwhelming for you, girlie?"

"No." Hinata began. "That's not it. That's not it at all. I know him."

"Really…wow, um okay then."

"This doesn't look so good for you Tenten." Ino started.

"Chicks before dicks, Tenten, chicks before dicks."

"What?" both Tenten and Hinata yelped.

"No, no you got the wrong idea. I never went out with this man, I just saw him before. That's all."

"Really, Temari, chicks before dicks?" Tenten began, shaking her head jokingly. "I can't believe you brought that old saying up."

"Hey, you can't blame me for saying it. It was the right time and everything."

"Anyways, Hinata, where did you meet this guy from since you claimed to have never dated him or even wanting to from the looks of it."

"I'm not quite – wait! I remember now, it was because his hair was down."

_Oh god, please. Don't let them put two and two together._

"I've seen him at Neji's shop every chance I got to go there during the day. He's a student there I believe."

_GOD!_

"Wait, didn't Tenten say that her crush worked with him?" Ino added.

"Hey, yeah, she did."

_Right about now would be good, please!_

"Then doesn't that mean that…"

_OH my god, I'm screwed! I am so screwed that I'm no longer screwed. I am now oppressed!_

"Tenten could have met Neji at some point!" Sakura yelled.

…_Eh…_

"Yeah, like by chance, she walked in when she was trying to see her crush, she might have seen Neji too!"

_Oh sweet baby Jesus!_

"So have you seen him, Tenten?" Temari asked, feeling somewhat bored with the topic.

"No. he's never in when I'm there."

"I could see that happening." Hinata giggled. "He can't always be there to teach them. He has a reputation to uphold so he's probably caged up in his penthouse making new designs and such."

_Nice one Hinata…even though you have no idea how much weight you just took from my shoulders._

"Oh well that's too bad." Ino cried.

"Yeah." Sakura agreed. "I really wanted to meet him, too."

_Too bad!_

"Well maybe we can go see if he's there tomorrow?"

_What?_

"Oh yay!"

_No! Say something, Tenten, anything. You have to stop this now!_

"Are you guys sure about this." Tenten cut in. "Don't you think that you'll be bothering him? Wont he be busy or something?"

"Oh, it's okay, Tenten. Neji is my cousin, and he odors both me and Hanabi too much to stay angry at us."

Tenten froze. In fact, everything around her seemed to slow down. Her friends mouths as they spoke, the waitresses that was walking their way with the checks, the other customers that were busy either eating or talking, everything slowed, as the fullness of Hinata's words sunk in.

_Her…cousin…_

**Two days later (Because those days were useless)**

It goes to say that Kanae was proved, once again, useless in her friend's relationship statuses. Given that she did cheer the up three days in a row –they both came back the next days with memories of their great/depressing dates and she ended up having to "cheer" them up again –she still found herself useless in the situation. Every chance she got, she would remember her feelings towards Yuuya, and Meme would have to comfort her before she went back to work, but this time she found herself in an even more confusing situation. Normally, for them at least, hardly anything happens on Saturdays, but not this Saturday. This was a particular different one. For one, Meme and Yuuya didn't come in all depressed and half-awake, second, the shop actually had visitors which was supposed to be impossible considering the only people that could get in here where the ones that were either invited by one of the students or the teacher, or if they had a card to get in the doors, but here they were, 5 girls, all unearthly pretty or gorgeous or cute and they were standing in the shop inches from Yuuya, staring with eager eyes as the other students watched them.

"Hey, hey, there's Yuuya!" one of them, the blonde with unnecessarily tight clothes on chirped, pointing her perfectly manicured finger his way.

"Ne, Tenten, look there's your boyfriend." Another one with pink hair squealed, tossing her towards him.

Kanae looked Yuuya's way just in time to see his surprised face turn into a wildly embarrassed one when she ran into him, and she couldn't help but feel the sting of pain strike her when she saw his reaction.

"W-we're not l-like that yet!"

"Aw he said yet." The other blond teased, crossing her hands over her chest in a show of dominance. "He's so cute, Tenten. Look he's blushing."

"N-no I'm not!" Yuuya yelled, successfully hiding his blush in the process.

"He's stuttering like Hinata does around Naruto." The pink haired one laughed as she and the others inched closer to him. Kanae and Meme simply watched from a distance with worried faces as their friend found himself flustered over the girls' words. That was when Kanae stood. She was feeling a little tiered of this and a little irritated as well. She wanted them to leave him alone and now.

"Enough!" a rather deep voice roared, making everyone either jump or freeze. Kanae stared at her, feeling smaller the more she looked on as Tenten stood protectively over Yuuya with guarded eyes. "don't you guys think you're being a little too overbearing to him, he doesn't even know you yet you trample him with all this…this…I don't even know what to call it, but you're doing it! Calm down and leave him alone, geez he's dying here. Besides, the reason we came here isn't even here so we might as well leave. There's no point in us being here."

People watched as the atmosphere that once was thick from Tenten's words slowly watered down to a rather mellow kind of thing before the girls all sighed simultaneously.

"I guess she's right there." The pink haired girl sighed. She then looked at Yuuya then bowed slightly before fixing him with a bright smile that touched her dazzling teal green eyes. "I apologize for our actions to you. It's just that we saw the picture of you at the photo shoot and we were rather ecstatic to meet you for the first time. Tenten spoke of you a lot so we were interested, is all."

Yuuya blushed a little before promptly making disappear. He cleared his throat then looked back up at them with a different look in his purple eyes. "She talks about me?"

This time Tenten was the one to blush. She looked away when Yuuya looked her way after asking her friends such a thing. He found himself smiling at her with a tender look in his eyes. She didn't see it of course, but he did it anyways. Beside him, Meme and Kanae looked on with curiosity and worry.

"Yeah, all the time." The pink haired girl continued. "I'm Sakura, by the way. The loud mouth blonde over there is Ino, the other blonde is Temari and that one with the overly exaggerated long hair is –˝

"Hinata." A deep voice, that wasn't Yuuya's interjected, sending chills up everyone's spines. Yuuya was the only one who wasn't reacting in that manner, instead, he was glaring. All emotions that were previously showing were gown.

"Neji nii san!"

_Shit!_ Tenten thought. Nothing was playing her way now. Yuuya was reacting the way she thought he would and Neji was looking at her and them curiously the way she didn't want him to. The last thing she waned him to do was mention that he knew her already.

She looked at him shyly before looking back at Yuuya who was watching her now with a rather sad look on his face.

"Neji I came to introduce you to my friends. They have been wanting to meet you for some tie, Ino and Sakura especially."

Neji looked their way briefly before refocusing on Tenten. He didn't respond, but that was expected from Hinata, but she did find it weird that his focus was mainly on Tenten.

"This is Temari and that one you keep staring at is Tenten."

That was when he snapped out of it, when his eyes seemed to clear up and he understood something, what it was Tenten will never know, but he understood it nonetheless. "Am I staring?" he questioned, looking away from her for a minute before focusing back on her yet again. "I'm sorry, it's just that you look a little too young to be…noticed, by Hinata or Ino for that matter."

"You know of me?" Ino asked/squealed.

Neji looked her way almost too eagerly and put on his best smile/smirk thing that he could muster up for her. "Yes." He answered. "You're the beauty of business, the model of the business world, and I have to say that it's a pleasure to have you here today."

Ino blushed a little, but beside her Tenten was furious. There are a lot of things people could mock her for; her job, her choice of dress, her hair, or even her sexual interest, but her age was the only one she wouldn't tolerate. That was when she knew, she knew that he knew that she rather not be remembered at this point when her friend were in front of her, and that he was testing her tolerance to this.

_I know he's helping me and all but…really! Mocking my age! You'll get yours Neji! When this is all said and done, best believe you'll get a special visit soon!_

Neji looked back down at her then smirked, provoking her to the point of exploding, but she didn't, she couldn't, not because her cover would be blown, but rather because Yuuya was watching. His eyes, steady and unwavering, were watching the scene play out in front of him and he wasn't saying a thing. He wasn't reacting to the silent and spoken insults from Neji the way he normally would, especially when they involved her. He was just watching almost as if he was studying.

_Yuuya?_

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><p><strong>Meh. I don't like this one all that much. It's all chopped and such. I'm not feeling it as bad as the others. You guys let me know how you think. If it's gotten to a certain point I'll rewrite it.<strong>


	20. Time Apart

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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><p><strong>AN: okay let's be honest…if I chose to write a collection of one shots, one for every letter in the alphabet, would anybody reading this right now read them?**

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><p>Chapter 20: Time apart<p>

Meme came into her apartment kind of disconnected from the world around her. She had thoughts swimming through her head. Thoughts of last night with her beloved Neji sensei, and how much fun she had, came up. Even when he often looked past her, more than the last time, she still found it necessary to have as much fun as she could, because only God knew when it would end.

"Hey Meme." Her roommate, Kiyo cheered as she walked past her towards the kitchen.-(1) - "What's up? You look dead."

Meme looked her way, studied her for a second, then fell against the couch and cried. Kiyo ran to her instantly, rubbing her back once she got there in attempts to calm her down enough to voice her problems, but that only made matters worse.

"Meme what's the matter?"

She said nothing. She just cried harder, hiding her face from the world in the comforter's pillows. She cried for herself, mainly. She cried because of her own confusions, because of her own doings. She made herself cry today, so why did she feel the need to blame someone else. Anyone would have been good, but she was in too bad a mood to actually put her plan into action. So she just cried, blaming herself in her head instead of Yuuya or Kanae or Neji or Tenten, even though she thought it was more Tenten's fault than anyone else's, she still couldn't do it. Then, from just the thought, she began to hate herself even more for even wanting to blame someone else for her troubles.

"Meme, I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong. You have to tell me so that I know what all to do. Do I need to get some ice cream or chocolate, candy or marshmallows? Let me know. You know I'm here for you. I always will be."

"Kiyo…" Meme finally cried without lifting her head.

"Hm?"

"How much ice cream do we have left?"

"So it's heartbreak, huh? We have plenty, Meme. Now will you tell me what's going on?"

Kiyo stood and headed back into the kitchen while Meme finally sat up, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. "Yes." She finally answered. "Though it's my entire fault why I'm like this in the first place."

"Please explain." Kiyo smiled as she sat down handing Meme a pint of chocolate-chip-crunch ice cream.

Meme shook her head as she scooped up a spoonful, stuffed it in her mouth, and then swallowed. "Well…I have told you about my…crush, haven't I?"

**That same time, back at the shop**

She felt rather embarrassed with the position she was in, and in front of Neji no less. On her knees, head down and eyes closed as she bowed in front of the man that thought so highly of himself that he felt it necessary to sit with his legs crossed and head propped with the back of his hand while she bowed. It sort of looked like she was a fool or some peasant begging the king for forgiveness for her stupidity, or some other flaw she just so happened to have.

"Eh?" Neji teased with eyes that seemed to pierce through her back. "I didn't hear you, Tenten. What was it that you just said?"

"I said thank you!" Tenten screamed feeling more embarrassed as time went by with her on the floor. She was sitting on her knees now, but she was still in front of him nonetheless in such a submissive position and she didn't like that. Anything that tested her dominance, she tended to hate, yet she could never find it in her to hate Neji, and he was by far the worst when it came to overpowering her authority.

"Thank you." She cooed after calming down. "I don't know how, but you seemed to understand the situation I was in when Hinata and the others came in so suddenly. So thank you for covering for me, Neji."

"Speaking of which." He pestered on, falling into a more comfortable position, much to her displeasure, that involved his face being mere inches away from hers. "Why are you so pent on keeping the fact that you knew me a secret from all of your friends?"

"I hate publicity." She responded, looking him dead in his eyes so that he would see how serious she was. "It's irritating to me. I mean, who has time to follow some random celebrity around all day long just to get an embarrassing photo of them. Then to top it off, they make up some crackpot story to place behind the picture. It irritates me that someone's sole purpose is to make someone else's life miserable to a point of no return. Who does that?''

"Paparazzi." Neji replied with a smile.

"That was a rhetorical question, smart ass. By the way, why didn't you tell me that Hinata was your cousin?"

"One, I didn't know you and her were friends, and two, it should have been a given. We look alike for Pete's sake!"

"Well excuse me for not noticing."

He laughed, and for some time Tenten found it a little hard to breath. The sound of his voice was so rich, so genuine to his true self that it made it suffocating suddenly. She watched as everything around her slowed to a gentle pace that made his smiling face linger, and she couldn't help but feel at ease and a little awed.

"Tenten?" Neji questioned. "Tenten are you there?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm…I'm…here?"

He chuckled again before shaking his head at her. "You seem out of it. Are you okay? Do you need to get some rest?"

"I'm fine." She brushed him off then looked about her just to make sure that she was still where she thought she was.

She was, but she was still on her knees for some reason. _Should I be getting up?_

"Meme and I…broke up." Neji suddenly cooed, making Tenten's head snap towards him. "I mean, she wasn't my girlfriend or anything like that, but we were…dating…for a little while, and today, just before she left with Kanae, she told me that she thinks we should try to…see other people."

Tenten didn't reply. She was still watching him curiously. From what she just heard, he was dumped by a high school girl, and if anything, that would have easily punctured his ego. Yet he looked all too happy, almost as if a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. "Did she say why?" Tenten asked. She felt that, knowing Meme, she wouldn't have left someone she genuinely loved without an explanation.

"Besides the few dates, that was what I thought the issue was I even had this long ass reason on that topic. She said it was because I…" he paused, confusing Tenten for a moment, before he looked dead at her and continued. "She said that I was never thinking about her when we were out together. She said that I was looking past her even when our eyes were locked. She said that I was always thinking…about you, Tenten. So she ended it."

"…O-oh." Tenten blushed, but she didn't look away from Neji. She was too captivated to do so. "W-why were you thinking about me on a date with another girl, Neji? How despic-"

"It's because I've come to love you, Tenten."

She blinked then looked away, finally, with a wild blush as his words slowly sunk in. She tried to get up, but Neji had her pinned by her shoulders. She looked back at him, irritated with his actions, and was ready to snap at him, but she couldn't. Not when his lips were pressed tightly against hers, cutting her off completely. She thought about pushing him away, but the thought never made it to an action. Her hands were too weak from his touch, his much needed and missed touched, and her eyes, once wide, were slowly closing till only a slit was left. When he parted she felt strangely cold and lonely.

She wanted more.

"Tenten." Neji groaned, as he looked at her. Her expression mainly, caused him so much damage that he felt the need to pounce her. Of course he couldn't do that, so he settled for another, softer, more passionate kiss.

"Neji…no…stop." Tenten finally managed to squeak after she managed to break away from him, though that only made him fall to her neck and plant his kissed there. "Stop!" she yelled, pushing him completely off of her.

She stood right after and made her way towards the door, but he beat her there and pinned her between the door and his body. "Tenten…"

"Let me go, Neji." She cried without facing him. "I can't return your feelings. Not now. I'm trying to get over you and you're not making that any easier for me."

"That's good."

"No it's not!" she yelled, turning to face him as her anger boiled over. "I am with Yuuya now, Neji! Why can't you see that?"

"Because I don't want to!" he responded back with just as much vigor. "I'm sorry that I can't get over someone I love as easily as you do, Tenten!'

"Who said that it was easy? I can't be by myself for longer than 30 seconds without thinking about you! It is not easy, Neji, but I really like Yuuya and he likes me back, and the last thing I want to do is hurt him because of my own selfishness!"

"Are you happy, Tenten?" Neji asked. His voice was low now, calmer now as he watched her steadily.

"Yes." She answered. "I am."

"Were you happy when you were with me?"

She didn't answer. She just watched again before she finally shook her head yes, making him light up a little. "I was really happy with you. Even though I didn't show it, I couldn't deny that you made me feel something I never felt before and that was what made me love you, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to leave someone that I sincerely care about because you want me now."

"Tenten I'm sorry."

"Don't you think it's a little too late for all that Neji?"

He shook his head before leaning back in and kissing her again. This time, she closed her eyes and moaned into it before she pushed him away again.

"By Neji." She cried, letting a couple of tears fall down her face before she forced her way through the door, closing it behind her.

"By." She whispered again as she leaned against the door, feeling a little dejected.

"Talking to Neji." A deep voice asked, catching her off guard.

"Y-Yuuya? I thought you left with Kanae already."

"I did." He began as he pushed himself off the stool he was sitting on. "But I saw you go in just before we were boarding the bus. Thought you came to see me or something, guess I was wrong."

"Yuuya it's not what you think it is."

"I know." He smiled, looking up at her with a sad look in his eyes. "I know it's not. You're not that kind of girl, Tenten, but I still can't help but fell a little…depressed about my girlfriend still loving her old crush, you know."

"You heard."

"Every word. The walls here are rather thin, Tenten."

"Yuuya, look I-"

"I know. You like me…a lot, but you love Neji don't you?"

She didn't answer. She just looked at him. She looked as if she was going to cry, but she didn't. She cried in front of him once before, and she refused to do so again even if she wanted to.

"Tenten, I love you too." Yuuya cooed sadly. "But I can look at you and see that you don't feel the same way about me. You still love him."

That was when she broke, when tears started to fall slowly and he saw this, but he didn't react the way he did the first time. He flinched and blinked once as if his whole body was in pain from just seeing her in pain, but other than that he didn't budge. He just watched as she wiped furiously at her eyes and stammered every now and again in attempts to try and explain herself.

Of course, he didn't allow her to finish what she had to say, why would he? He already hurt her, so why make her suffer more. He kissed her much like Neji did earlier, with passion and pain at the same time. She didn't moan into it though, but she did freeze like she did the first time and allowed her eyes to fall slowly.

"I will always love you, Tenten." He smiled as he pushed her bangs up and placed his forehead on hers. "I hoped you would come to love me the same way you did with Neji, but I see that I may never get over the strong infatuation hurdle when it comes to your feelings. It's okay. You don't have to force yourself to love someone you like."

"Yuuya…"

"I hope we can still talk like normal, and hang out every now and then…" he sighed, dropping his head as he forced himself to smile "…but as friends."

"You are breaking up with me after kissing me?"

"That was a goodbye kiss…so…goodbye Tenten. I'll see you tomorrow…I hope." And with that he left with his head low and eyes closed tight in attempts to keep the tears back.

Tenten hadn't seen him crying because of her own tears rolling down her cheeks in rapid streaks. She was too shocked to wipe them away this time. Too shocked and hurt. She couldn't feel her legs under her but she didn't fall, that much she was sure of. She somehow knew that she was still standing, still not screaming the way she did when Neji hurt her, and she knew that that was wrong. That was what Yuuya was talking about…but still, it hurt nonetheless.

**Neji's POV**

When I finally got the nerve to step out my office I wasn't expecting to see Tenten standing in the middle of the shop with her lips locked with Yuuya's, and I especially wasn't expecting him to say such words to her after doing so. I almost felt the need to punch him, but I couldn't move. I felt that if I did, he would notice me, and when he noticed Tenten would too and then I would have to explain myself.

"That was a goodbye kiss…so…goodbye Tenten. I'll see you tomorrow…I hope." He smiled a fake smile, one that hid so much pain that I almost felt sorry for him.

Soon after, he was gone, leaving Tenten standing hopelessly by herself in the middle of the room with her back to me. For a moment she wasn't moving. Her shoulders weren't shaking, like they would had she been crying, she didn't drop to her knees the way most girls going through a serious breakup would, she didn't even look like she was breathing and that honestly scared me.

Then, just as I thought about stepping to her, she lifted her arm and wiped violently at her eyes. After another moment, she held her hands under her face as if she was trying to catch something important from falling and soon after she was wiping her eyes again. It wasn't until I heard her suck in an unsteady breath that I realized she was crying.

"Tenten?" I cooed, stepping up behind her with hesitant hands.

Her shoulders shook a little before she straightened them. She didn't say anything for a while and that only made matters worse for me. "Tenten?"

"Neji…" she began. She still wasn't facing me though. "I'll never find anyone suitable, will I?"

"What?"

She turned then, showing me to what extent she had been crying. It made me want to punch Yuuya even more now that I saw how bad he hurt her. Her eyes were all puffed and her lips were swollen and quivering even as she looked at me. One spot was a little bloody, probably from her forcing herself to not cry in front of him and her nose was running slightly. Overall she looked like someone had just killed her puppy, grandmother, father or anything else in that field of closeness. I didn't know what to do right then and there so I just took her in my arms and held her tight. For a while she just stood there, as expected, but, after some time, she slowly placed her hands on my back as she buried her face into my chest and cried once more, and that was one time too much.

"That's not true." I managed to say without sounding angry. "I'm here for you."

She shook again then cried harder, digging her nails into my back as she- sobbed tenderly in my arms, and I couldn't help but feel right. I couldn't help but feel that this was perfect, that this was how things were supposed to have been from the begging.

"I love you, Tenten."

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><p><strong>Okay so please, please don't hate Yuuya. I can't say anything if you do though, cause honestly I almost hated him myself for a moment there. But hey he cried over the breakup too, ne? Show him some sympathy. I know a lot of you love him.<strong>

**Make sure you review, telling me your feelings towards this chapter, your answer to my question mentioned in the author's note at the top, or what you want to happen because I might just make it happen so yeah. Review! **

**- (1) - Kiyo; she's one of the girls form the photo shoot with Yuuya and his cousin, remember. For more info, though there is little, about Kiyo refer to chapter 17-Fun.**

**BTW ice cream, chocolate, and candy and marshmallows to me is; heartbreak (Ice cream), PMSing (Chocolate), and unrequited love (candy and marshmallows)**

**But that's only applying to Meme and me in a way…**


	21. Caught in the Act

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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><p><strong>AN: Sweetness starting…now**

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><p>Chapter 21: Caught in the Act<p>

Normal mornings for Neji were never as peaceful as this one. Normally he would wake up alone in his house with random bits and pieces of cloth stuck to his skin, unless he had a good night, then he would wake up with a hangover and some random chick he didn't even know or remember hugging his hips in the hotel room he visited so often they reserved one room for him every day. However, this morning was significantly different.

For starters, he was still fully dressed. On an everyday basis he would at least sleep with shorts on, no shirt, or wake up completely naked on the other days. The only time he was fully dressed was when he fell asleep at the easel –which wasn't a usual occurrence –but this time, he had his clothes on with no paper stuck to his face, this time he was smiling, this time he was with her.

Tenten, looking small and vulnerable in fetal position with the covers pulled up to her chin, slept safely under his protection all night last night. Right after she calmed down a little, he had his personal driver come pick them up from the shop instead of taking his car, and the whole way there he was rocking her in his lap or cooing anything in particular to quiet her down whenever she broke out again.

He figured bringing, or rather carrying, a crying girl into the hotel he normally stayed at would be embarrassing to the both of them so he brought her to his actual house, a place where no woman, aside from Hinata, has seen. The moment they stepped in, she fell asleep in his arms. He attempted to place her in the bed so that she could sleep peacefully on her own, but she had a vice grip on his shirt and nothing he did to get free kept her asleep, so, in the end, he ended up sleeping next to her –though she did all the sleeping, he stayed up most of the night watching her– now as he lay comfortably on his side, watching the steady rise and fall of her shoulders that signaled her breathing, he felt bliss for the first time in a long time. Nothing could ruin his mode. Everything was going perfectly for him.

_**Ding, dong!**_

_Great._ He thought as he climbed out of bed, keeping a steady eye on the still sleeping girl beside him. _This better be some kind of package or something important or I swear I will kill whoever bothered me at a time like this._

"Hey Neji, you're here. Normally you wouldn't be here first. This is a surprise."

_Of course…It's Naruto. The only idiot lacking enough brain to understand that I don't want to be bothered._

"What are you doing here?" Neji growled.

"I came to hang, since I have a free day. I brought Sasuke so that you two could be ice cubes together and not feel totally overpowered by my awesomeness." Naruto answered as he forced his way through with Sasuke following shortly after.

"Thanks for having us, I guess." Sasuke mumbled.

"Fine." Neji gave up, racking a hand through his thick, matted from not washing, hair. He grimaced once but managed to get his hand through. "Just…keep quiet will you?"

"Eh?" Naruto bellowed mere inches away from Neji's room. "Why? Is there someone special here?"

"Special?" Sasuke questioned after knocking Naruto upside the head. "If any woman made it here instead of the hotel than I think it's fair to say that Neji found `The One'." Sasuke joked.

"Like you?"

"What?" Neji questioned as he ushered the group away from the hall. "Sasuke found a girl he can actually stand?"

"No!" He flushed. "Shut up, dobe!"

"Sounds like you do." Neji smirked.

"I don't!"

"He does, he does, and she's really pretty. I think she likes him back. Her name was Sakura Haruno, and she had pink hair and it was a natural color and-"

"Haruno? Hinata knows her."

"Eh? Hinata does?" Naruto questioned. "That's pretty cool, speaking of her, how is she? I haven't seen or heard from her in forever."

"She's fine." Neji growled, suddenly feeling angry for Naruto's unneeded attention. "Anyways, back to Sasuke and his little crush."

"Oh god why?"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto chirped. "You should have seen him, Neji. He was stuttering! Can you believe that? He didn't blush or anything, but if he didn't have any strength or perseverance no doubt he would have been blushing so hard he would have fainted!"

"Shut up!" Sasuke yelled.

Neji flinched, suddenly remembering his guest in the room not too far away, and the others instantly shut up. For a second, no one said anything. They were each quiet, listening to nothing in particular, until Neji finally calmed. "Quietly remember." He scolded.

Sasuke looked at him with a questionable look of irritation before he puffed and sat back in the sofa while Naruto giggled quietly beside him.

"Who's here anyways, Neji?" Sasuke asked after settling down some.

Neji was about to answer when the soft sound of a creaking floor made them all freeze with anticipation. It wasn't till the sound of dragging feet started when they all turned, eager to meet her.

**Tenten's POV**

I woke up to the sound of a strangely failure voice in a completely unfamiliar environment and for a moment I just laid there and looked around. The room was surprisingly very dark even though I was more than sure that the sun was up. So, my first task was finding a source of light. The curtains were the closest so I pulled them back.

The sun was well in the sky, telling me that it was noon.

_Glad I have an off day today._

I sighed then looked around the room. Besides the overly big window accompanied with the really thick and really long, black shades, there were even more overly extravagant pieces.

The bed that I just left was a beautiful white, wooden platform bed with the bed sunk in. Behind the bed was a cushion like back board that stretch a well 3 feet from the end of the king sized bed on either side that was red in color. The bedding, though messed up now, was a red, black and white ensemble that consisted mainly of red and black with splashes of white here and there. Beside the bed, on both sides, were two small black tables standing under just 24 inches each with their own red lamp with a white shade. The one on the opposite side had an empty picture frame standing carefully next to a small, expensive looking, alarm clock.

The carpet under my feet was thick beyond belief and white in color while the wooden wall that it connected with was slick and black, stretching high above my head where I found a chandelier looking kind of light hanging delicately above the bed. Farther down I could see a mess of papers scattered around a drawing easel that still had a drawing of a dress, long elegant and uncolored, plastered to it. I stepped to it to study the design and was met with a whole other section hiding behind a wall that I thought lead to the hallway. Needless to say, it didn't. The hall was wide, adding more room to the room, and it lead to three other doors I thought were necessary to explore.

The first one I came to was a bathroom that passed by all other bathrooms with flying colors in the style factory. Another hallway stretched on a little longer where there was an open door revealing a small room that held a toilet sink and shower, across from that room was a closet for the towels and such, but that wasn't what made this bathroom breathtakingly amazing. That was because of what was just ahead –The tub. It was a big, drop in Jacuzzi tub that was surrounded by black tile with little lights all around and inside it. The room around it was barren. It was the only thing in that section aside from a towel rack on one of the walls.

_Speechless…I'm actually speechless. What the hell is this? What kind of dream bathroom is this? Just this and the room alone cost more than double my rent!_

Slowly I back out the dream bathroom with my mouth gaped and my eyes wide. I had more to explore, because if that was just the bathroom then I had something to look forward to if I kept moving.

"Tenten?" a deep sensual voice that sent chills up and down my spine, came.

I turned and wasn't surprised to see Neji walking towards me, long hair flowing and everything, with a curious smile and eyes to match. Before he got to speak, the doorbell rang loudly throughout the whole house. I hear another voice yell "I got it" before it goes quiet again and Neji's curiosity came back.

"What are you doing?" He asked with a hint of amusement in his velvety voice.

"Exploring." I answered without looking his way. The memories from last night's events were coming to me now that he was here and I felt, not only heartbreak, but embarrassment all over again. To think Neji would witness me crying so hard for another man? "You have a really nice room. I'm assuming this is the master bed room or are you one of the people that have something like this in every room?"

"Hn." He grunted as he followed me out the bathroom. "No this is the master so I got all the good stuff. The other room I turned into a game room for Hanabi and her little friends whenever they were blessed with the privilege to come here."

"Can I see it?" I asked with averted eyes.

"Do as you please."

"Yay, but why is your house like this? I mean this is too much don't you think?"

"No." He answered quickly, shaking his head for emphasis. "I hired a very skilled architect pair for this house. –(1) –I don't know why but I like big things and well, this house gives me a back at home feel since I lived every waking moment of my life in that big traditional style estate."

"Oh." I replied, looking at him for the first time in a while, though he wasn't paying any attention. "That's cool."

Once we stepped out of the bedroom I immediately heard voices –Two masculine ones that seemed to be arguing. I looked at Neji cautiously from the corner of my eye. He was no longer smiling; a sign that said that whoever was here didn't deserve to see his other, very enticing, side.

"Hi, Neji-nii-san and…"

_Oh shit!_ I thought as I quickly jumped behind Neji. He seemed genuinely surprised too so I could clearly see that he was also not expecting Hinata to suddenly show up.

"Tenten?" she questioned. I could practically hear the angry/curious glare she was giving me. "Is that you? What are you doing here?"

I didn't say anything. I just peaked at her from behind Neji who was now on the defensive, and for a moment, that was how we stayed. Whether it was due to the shock or anger was beyond my knowledge but, for the first time in a long time, I was honestly afraid of Hinata.

"So, I know this is bad timing and all…" Naruto –of course –began. "…but, I found a piece of cake in your fridge Neji. So I just want to say that I call dibs."

**Later on (still in Tenten's POV)**

I sighed and took another forkful of the cake I took from the fridge –(2)–while Hinata and Neji argued somewhere off in his room. Neji said the walls were virtually sound proof but, for some reason, we could hear the both of them. Not enough to make out words, but enough to know whose turn it was to yell.

After I desperately tried to lie to Hinata and all attempts failed, I ended up having to tell her the truth about my history with her cousin. That was when she, surprisingly, exploded on Neji. Of course he replied with just as much fire and after some time, he stalked off to his bedroom with Hinata following. That had been 30 minutes ago and the yelling has ceased to stop.

"They're getting louder." Sasuke complained.

"Tenten, are you sure I can't have at least on bite?" Naruto asked.

"I'm positive." I scolded while cramming a rather big piece in my mouth.

"But I called dibs."

"Well maybe if you had called it when things weren't heated."

"But I had to!"

"No you didn't dobe."

"Shut up teme! I really wanted that cake. It looked good."

"It is." I bragged with a small smirk.

"They stopped." Sasuke sighed, making both Naruto and I turn to the sound of the two Hyuuga's walking back towards the living area which, by the way, was just as open and beautiful as the room.

"Tenten." Hinata was the first to show her face. It was still reddened from holding her breath when she was forcing every word out all at once. "Are you alright."

Neji scoffed behind her and made his way to the kitchen, taking a seat at the bar. Not long after Naruto was placing a drink in front of him, which he drained in seconds before asking for another.

"Yes." I finally asked after my brief observation. "I'm fine. There was no need for you to worry, Hinata."

"There was no need for you to worry, Hinata!" Neji repeated with an edge in his voice. He was glaring now, much like she was and for a moment I thought they were going to start yelling again, but they didn't. Sasuke sighed with relief again.

"But there was." Hinata began after some time, refocusing back on me as I pecked at my cake. "You are one of my dearest friends. If you had been some other girl I hadn't known I wouldn't have cared as much, but you're not. You are my friend, and I know well of my cousins ways. So worrying was inescapable."

"But I'm fine."

"Fine?" she asked, though rhetorically. "Tenten he made you emotionally unstable for quite some time. He was the reason why your life is as complicated as it is now!"

"Bullshit!" Neji yelled, throwing his cup to the ground in a fit of rage. – (3)–

Hinata eyed him again and was about to yell something back, but I stopped her when I grabbed her arm and shook my head. "Hinata…" I cooed, all seriousness set, "All that has been happening was because of me. There was no need to drag Neji into this. Truth be told, I was already emotionally unstable when I met Neji which is why I made that rash decision. I dragged him in to my problems because he was the only thing I could find suitable enough to soak it all up. So it was my own fault that I ended up the way I did, not Neji's."

"But, Tenten…" she stopped.

"I think you two need to apologize."

"What for?" Neji snarled. "I didn't do anything?"

"Neji, you were yelling at her just as she was at you. Now, please apologize."

He stared at me for a while before he sighed and downed his drink yet again –Naruto fixed him another –coughed a little, shook his head then looked at Hinata and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Hinata."

"Hn." She began. "I too am sorry, Neji."

"There." I puffed a breath of relief as the atmosphere lessened. "Now don't we feel better?"

"No." Hinata shot, shocking everyone. By then Sasuke was gathering his things and heading out the door. No body stopped him, not even Naruto, since he didn't want to go yet. It was things like this that made him want to stick around.

"Huh?" I questioned. "What's up now, Hinata?"

"I still don't know what you are doing here, Tenten."

I blinked then faced Neji. He was about to take a sip at his cup once again, but stopped when our eyes meet. "I didn't tell her. I figured you'd rather tell her than have me do it."

I smiled at him before sighing and looking back at Hinata. "Well…" I finally began. "I…Yuuya and I broke up yesterday and-˝

"WHAT? WHY?" Hinata asked.

I looked back at Neji and found a blush started to form on my cheeks. The only reason I was sure they hadn't seen it yet was because my skin tone was darker. "I fell for someone else before he asked me out, and he was aware of that, just he thought that maybe he could get me to forget about him if I went out with him, and at the time I thought the same thing since the man I fell for…kept hurting me unintentionally." I sighed and looked at the ground –the dark wood was suddenly very dull in my eyes. "But, in the end, I couldn't stop thinking about that person and I ended up hurting Yuuya by doing so…So we broke up."

"What does that have to do with Neji?"

"The break up happened the day after you brought all of us to the shop. I came back to thank Neji for faking not knowing me, since I wasn't ready for you guys to know that I knew him already, and when I stepped out, Yuuya was waiting for me…that was when he broke up with me. Neji was the only other person there and well…I was just lucky that he cared enough to help me out. I fell asleep before we could get anywhere near my house so he brought me here."

"To his house." Hinata whispered more to herself than to anyone else. She then looked at Neji with knowing eyes and he nodded sullenly before putting his cup in the sink.

_What the hell was that, family telepathy? _

"Tenten." Hinata suddenly screamed, making me jump in my seat. "I'll take you home, but I do expect you to tell the girls about this."

"But-"

"I'm sure they will understand."

"If they don't then they aren't real friends." Naruto put in. "by the way, Hinata, can I get a ride home? Mine ditched me just now."

Hinata blushed but shook her head nonetheless then started for the door. Naruto followed but I stayed back a little. When they turned I shook them off. "I'll be there in a second."

Hinata understood, but Naruto didn't. He was about to say something but Hinata had pulled him out just before he could speak.

"Something wrong?" Neji asked as he came up behind me.

"Besides the fact that your house is ten times more expensive than mine, no, nothing."

I heard him laugh a little before I felt his arms snake around my neck, hugging me softly while I stood there taking in as much of his warmth as possible. I breathed in, smelling and loving his natural scent as my hands shot up to touch his arms as he rocked me softly back and forth, and for a moment that was all we did. I was happy with it though, and I was more than sure that he was too.

"Stay." He cooed. "I promise I won't do anything…unless you want me to." I felt him smile against my neck and I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"I can't. I need to get home and take a bath."

"You can take a bath here."

I took in a breath. _That's too tempting. I would really like that._

"I can't." I whined as I danced out of his embrace, though he kept my hands in his. "Though I really, really want to. I can't. Besides my clothes are at my house, remember?"

"Okay." He began. "Then I guess I'll see you Saturday."

"Why?" I asked with a smile. "Do we have plans?"

"Yes! A date actually."

"A date?"

"Yeah. I figured that since I won't see you around as much for obvious reasons that I could set a date to see you and have you all to myself. No one else, just you me and I'm thinking a nice meal at Giovanni's."

"Neji…I don't think-"

"That you're ready, I know. That's why I set it in a weeks' notice."

"You're insane." I laughed while he stood over me smiling like there was no tomorrow.

"I might be." He cooed. "But I'm only this way for you. So what do you say? Do we have a date?"

I looked at him for a while with this big smile on my face because there was honestly nothing else I could say. In the short time I've known Neji I have never seen him act like this. I have never seen him so…desperate. It was cute.

"I'll call you." I smiled as I slid my hand out of his and began walking away.

"I'll be waiting." I heard him call just before I walked out to the waiting car.

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><p><strong>Oh snap! Tenten got caught, and by the last person she wanted to know! Looks like she has some explaining to do. Teehee!<strong>

**REVIEW!**

**- (1)-When you have dream home that you know you can't do, just call Deidara and Sasori. They're the men for you! Call at this number: 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX!**

**- (2) - she broke dibs only rule. #don't steal someone's dibs!**

**- (3) - no…it was not a glass cup.**

**BTW I love Naruto. I think he's a secret genius under all that blond hair of his; it's just that I have to keep in character here. -_-**


	22. In too Deep

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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><p><strong>AN: There's a poll going on in my profile page on the story I should write next. Vote and you can get your wanted story to be the next one uploaded. You can vote twice.**

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><p>Chapter 22: In too Deep<p>

She hadn't realized how deep she was for Neji till she left his house with Hinata and Naruto. She hadn't realized how strong of a hold he had on her heart till she stepped out of the car into the real world where his scent wasn't dancing around her every where she went. She hadn't realized how bad she wanted him till she walked up to her apartment door just to be greeted by her friends' angry, confused or eager faces. She hadn't realized that she had fallen in love with Neji, even when she was away from him, till she was no longer around him. so telling her friends about their late nights together and the incident with Yuuya proved itself to be really hard considering she just found all this stuff out today herself.

Ino, once again, sat back in her spot on the couch with wide eyes and a pale face. This was the second time in one year that Tenten managed to render her speechless with her life problems and such. Had this been a normal chat with friends she would have made some smart comment to keep the conversation flowing or to get it going elsewhere, but this wasn't a normal conversation. This was pretty much a confession, a declaration of guilt from hiding such a secret as having sex with a famous, and favored, fashion designer on more than one occasion.

True she did tell them all about her little sex scandals, but that was with an unknown man that just so happened to be the Neji Hyuuga –Hinata's cousin –the fashion designer. Now that she knew who that man was she felt rather dumbfounded. It was simply really. She could have put two and two together and easily found out that Neji was the culprit behind this. Hell, anyone could have done that had they heard what she said, but the girls didn't. Not even the geniuses, Hinata and Sakura.

Ino forced herself to turn, only to be let down when she saw how surprised the others were. Sakura had her mouth open and her eyes wider than Ino's. For a second, Ino thought she wasn't blinking, but when she did, slowly but surely, she moved on to Temari who was relatively normal compared to her. She was staring at Tenten in disbelief and little bit of anger. Her hands were crossed over her chest and her body seemed stiff. Out of all of them, she seemed to be the most surprised.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner." Tenten finally began after some time. "I just don't like publicity and I couldn't risk having anyone know."

"We know that, Tenten." Temari nearly screamed. "We have been you r friends for how many years? Don't you think we would know about you, about what you like and dislike? You could have told us anything and we wouldn't have told anyone but each other! You should have told us instead of hiding it from us as if we weren't your friends!"

"I…"

"Temari is right, Tenten." Ino finally began. "We're your friends, and telling anyone about your secret life is not something we would do. You could have trusted us with that kind of information."

"I know…now" Tenten began "and I'm so sorry for not telling you guys sooner. It's just that I was so scared."

"Of what?" Sakura asked with a stern face. "What did you think we would tell someone?"

"Well…not on purpose."

"Tenten!" Ino yelled. "WE are your friends! That kind of stuff is private and we would never let that get out! We would never do anything to ruin you!"

"I know." Tenten sighed. She couldn't bring herself to yell back at the girls. She knew that she was in the wrong. She knew that she should have told them and trusted them enough to keep her secret. She knew all of that, but no matter how much she knew she still couldn't find it in her to tell them when she needed to. So all of this, the yelling, the blaming, and the anger, that was expected and accepted.

"I'm sorry." She apologized once more. "I'm really sorry."

Temari sighed then stood up with a hand on her head and the other on her hip. She was about to say something, but she stopped then went back to her previous position. "No." she began after some time. "No. I'm sorry, Tenten. It's your business on whether or not you tell us anything about you and your life and it's rude of us to get mad at you for not telling us sooner. Truth is, this is your life and…" she sighed. "We have no right to intrude."

"It's just that we were honestly worried about you." Sakura finished. "I mean, we could easily see that you weren't in it, that you weren't acting like your usual self and we had no clue what was causing that so…"

"We're all sorry, Tenten." Ino cut in. "From now on, we won't pester you on your life…unless we seriously have to. Fair?"

Tenten smiled. "Yeah that's fair. Thanks guys."

**The Next Day**

Tenten walked into the office feeling weary and weak. Her feet were dragging, her head was low, and her eyes were swollen from last night's sob fest. Anyone within a mile radius could tell just by looking at her that today was not the day for this normally happy-go-lucky morning person. So, as she passed by the coffee machine and the snack room to her office, she could feel the many worried eyes that shot her way. The feeling only grew when she sat down without speaking to either of her next door coworkers.

"Hey Tenten." Essence cooed in her "I know something's wrong" voice. "How's life?"

"Great." Tenten replied.

"Are you sure?" Ikuya asked soon after. "You look kind of down, hun."

Tenten looked up at them. Both were sincerely worried for her, juts she wasn't sure that she could trust them enough to keep all her problems at bay. She then looked back down at her desk before sighing and turning on the computer. "I rather not talk about it."

Ikuya sighed. From the corner of her eye he looked like he was about to speak again but when her phone rang he stopped, biting on his lip out of habit, before sinking back into his cubicle.

"Hello?" Tenten sighed into the phone, not bothering to check the caller id.

"Hello, Tenten?"

She sat up, knocking over a cup of pens and pencils in the process. In seconds Ikuya and Essence were back, looking more worried than ever.

"What do you want?" Tenten growled as she waved off her friends. They didn't listen and chose to stay.

"Tenten, please. I just want to talk."

"I don't have anything to say to you."

"Then can you just listen for three seconds, please."

"…How did you get this number?"

"From Temari."

"She wouldn't deliberately give you my number when she knows I Hate you, Kankuro!"

"I got it from her contacts, but that's not the point."

"What do you want?"

"That's what I'm trying to get at if you would just listen to me for once instead of screaming at me before I can even explain myself!"

"…"

"Listen…" Kankuro sighed. She heard ruffling through the phone and guessed that he was messing up his hair –a thing he tended to do when stressed. "I…I really like you, Tenten. I still do and I…I want to make it up. I want to fix this. I don't want to lose you."

"Well you should have thought of that before you stood me up."

"I know. I know, and I'm sorry. I just…I needed the money, and they were paying double if I managed to get Gaara to show up and…"

"Get to the point." She interrupted.

He sighed and the sound of ruffling was heard again, and Tenten couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with glee at his distress. "Look, this isn't working."

"Obviously."

"Tenten…Okay…can we…can we meet up somewhere. I need to talk to you…in person."

"Well I don't think that will work out because I don't want to see your face."

"Right now?"

"No. Never."

He sighed again. "Please. I promise that if you give this to me, if you just let me see you and try to explain myself better, than I will forever leave you alone. I'll lose your number, I'll delete you from ever social website I have, including my email, I'll...I'll forget I even met you if that's what you want. Just you have to give me this one last time. Please."He begged.

"Or" Tenten began after some time of thought. "I could just put a restraining order on you and this will all be over without me having to ever see your face again, at least until the court date."

"Tenten, I'm begging you."

This time, it was her turn to sigh. She wasn't speaking, though she wasn't giving him the silent treatment either. She was merely thinking. He was begging. No doubt about that, his voice sounded like it was about to break, like he was on the verge of crying form how she chose to cooperate with him. Granted that she did enjoy his slow diminish, she did have a heart. One that was breaking slightly around the edges from the way she was treating him.

"Fine." She complied, but just before he could speak again, she hung up the phone and stared at it for some time. when it was clear that it wasn't going to ring again, she sighed even harder than the first time then sat back in her chair as if she just landed the world's biggest and most important deal.

"Who's Kankuro?"

"He's the email guy." Tenten answered

"How did he get your work number?" Essence asked.

"His sister." Tenten paused and watched them, and was suddenly aware of how invisible Kankuro really was to the celebrity world, and she couldn't help but feel triumphant for unconsciously hiding her secret again. "He took it from her phone. Probably when she was busy and wasn't looking since she hardly leaves it unattended."

"He sounds like a pest." Ikuya complained.

"He is." Tenten sighed. "And I honestly didn't need to hear from him. Not today at least. Ugh my head is killing me."

"Why? What happened?" Essence asked.

"I'm more than sure I got some form of a hangover mixed with a period headache going on here."

"Ew." Ikuya croaked.

"Why, hun?" Essence chuckled.

"Yuuya and I broke up yesterday."

"What?"

…_Shit! How did they get me to tell them? What the hell! I was on my A game, that was sneaky as hell…Sneaky bastards._

"Why?"

Tenten sighed. _I might as well tell them. They already know too much as it is._

"Okay so here's the deal…"

**Later That Day**

Tenten sat impatiently by herself, wrapped in a thick jacket, scarf and hat just outside her apartment at a coffee shop she occasionally visited when she didn't have time to stop at Giuseppe's. She was rather mad and tired. As it turns out, telling Ikuya and Essence about her life –excluding Neji –was harder than telling the girls. Those two asked too many confusing questions for her. She sometimes wished that they could be normal and not detective-like whenever they were asking her things, but that was impossible. They were out to get her on everything she had to tell them, and honestly, she had a lot to tell. Just she wasn't willing to do so.

Now, though, as she sat outside in the cold, considering that the small shop closed early, she was waiting on her nightmare to begin. Kankuro was supposed to have shown up twenty minutes ago, but he has yet to even contact her in case he wasn't coming. Though she wasn't surprised from his lateness, she was however mad all over again. It was like their date but worse, because she was actually here this time.

"Tenten." A male voice suddenly called from behind her, making her roll her eyes and turn.

"Wow." She began." You're late, but that didn't come as a surprise to me."

"I'm sorry. I-"

"I don't want to hear it, Kankuro. Just tell me what it is you want, so I can go home. I'm freezing."

"You want my scarf?"

"No! What do you want?"

Kankuro's smile faded as he wrapped his scarf back around his neck. He puffed a cloud of breath-smoke into the air, smiled, then sighed as he turned on Tenten all too soon. "Like I said on the phone, Tenten." He began. "I want another chance."

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><p><strong>Yeah I'm not too proud of this one, but tell me what you guys think.<strong>

**Don't forget to review and if you have time check out my poll. It would do you good for the upcoming Fanfic I'm about to do. Whichever wins, gets to be uploaded. I'm ending it at the end of this month.**

**P.S. should I include a preview to the Nejiten stories that I have listed on my profile to make the voting easier. Let me know.**


	23. Dominated by Emotions

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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><p><strong>AN: check out my poll…or ELSE…jk, jk**

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><p>Chapter 23: Dominated by Emotions<p>

"_Hell no!"_

"_But-"_

"_No, Kankuro, and that's final."_

"_Tenten I-"_

"_I can't believe you called me out here for something as trivial as this. You could have said that over the phone."_

"_I know but-"_

"_I sat here for almost an hour, freezing my ass off for something like that. Fuck off, Kankuro."_

"_Is it so wrong to want to see your face once more? I knew what you were going to say from the start but I still wanted to at least see you one more time. Can't I get something for that?"_

"_Yeah. Look at the back of the bachelor's magazine; I'm on most every page with Neji."_

"_Tenten!"_

"_Bye Kankuro."_

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><p>Tenten growled. The conversation with Kankuro didn't go as well as she had hoped it would. Hell it didn't last as long as she thought it would either, but it sure did end the way she expected; with her yelling his head off and her storming off in the opposite direction of her house. The reason being, she didn't want him to know where she lived. Why she hadn't thought of that when they signed a place to meet, she would never know, but know she was standing outside angrily with her hand waving franticly or a taxi, and it was starting to snow. She growled again when the first snow drop touched her nose just as a taxi pulled up.<p>

"Where to?" The man asked.

Tenten sat there for a moment, warming her hands before she even decided to look up and acknowledge the driver. Many places ran through her mind. Ino's, Sakura's, Temari's, and Hinata's place came up first, but they all lived on the other side of Tokyo where all the big shots lived. So they were out. Essence and Ikuya came up next, but, knowing the both of them all too well, she decided against having to meet and hear their new "roommates". Yuuya came up for some unknown reason, but the thought was met with a throb from her chest and was quickly disregarded. So who was left? Who else could she go to at this time of day?

"Oh." Tenten nearly shouted, scaring the driver.

There was still one more person. There was still someone that she could turn to, and as she thought about the dark rooms of red, white, and black, the beautiful bathroom and elegant decorations, she couldn't help but smile at the face that she connected it all to. The face that only smiled when she was around, the one that forcefully dragged her around wherever he went, the one that made her cry but made her happy right after, the one that singlehandedly snatched the top bachelor position from every other successful male, Neji Hyuuga.

"To the Park Hyatt Tokyo Hotel, please."

The man looked at her for a moment as if he didn't believe he heard her right, but when she moved her hands in a "hurry it up" fashion, he turned with a roll of his eyes and drove on.

_We'll see._ He thought.

**At the Hotel**

No matter how many times she's been to the place, she still couldn't help but stare at it. In all its grace, it was seriously beautiful, captivating even. No one who was new to the area could pass by and not look up at it with amazement. Tenten, on the other end, has been here a couple of times, she has been in the walls of the best room, and she still couldn't look away from the hotel.

Behind her, the taxi driver sat in his car, watching her with anticipation, wanting to see if she would go in, to see if she would be kicked out like most other unworthy people, and he was growing impatient with her tourist look. Then, just as he was about to honk his horn, she looked back down, took a deep breath then walked in.

_Finally!_

The rush of the wind running in after her nearly took her off her feet when she stepped into the warm lobby room of the hotel. The people around her disregarded her as she weaved in and out of the busy bodies in attempts to reach the check in desk.

She knew the chances of Neji being here were 50-50, but it never helped to check anyways. Besides, if he wasn't here, then she could go home without worrying about Kankuro still standing there. She was about three people away from the desk when delegate hands touched both of her shoulders.

"Excuse us," the owners of the arms called sweetly from behind her, making her turn.

In truth, Tenten was expecting security to be behind her because of her attire –cause let's be honest, an old looking 120¥ forest brown jacket didn't look like it belonged in the coat rack with the rest of the 2040¥ fur coats –but when she turned she was completely caught off guard. Instead of a woman twice her size and dressed in uniform form head to toe, she saw two identical looking girls, blonde with eyes as green as the grass in the summer, staring at her. The both of them were dressed in a maid outfit with a side ponytail; one on the right and one on the left.

"Y-yes?" Tenten asked.

"You wouldn't happen to be looking for Neji-sama are you?"The twin with the right ponytail asked with a sweet smile.

_Sama? _

"Yeah, actually. I am looking for him? Is he here?"

"No." the other twin replied. "May I ask who you are? I'm Akari."

"I'm Minori." The other smiled just after the first one stopped talking.

"Oh." Tenten's sad reply came when she processed the twin's words. "He's not here, huh." She began walking off when she suddenly stopped. "And, I'm Tenten, since you asked."

"Tenten?" both girls beamed, making her stop in her tracks.

"Yes?"

"We're sorry, Miss Tenten." The one on the right, Akari she believed, cooed. "Neji-sama really isn't here."

"I know." Tenten began. "You already-"

"No, he told us to tell anyone that may be looking for him that he wasn't here." The other one, Minori interrupted with a smile. "But, if they were on the list then take them up anyways until he showed up."

"…and…"

"You're on the list." They both sung as they hooked their arms with hers and dragged her towards the elevators.

Meanwhile, outside, still sitting in the cab, was the driver. His eyes were wide as he watched the two beautiful girls drag the bun-haired girl away with big smiles.

"Well damn." He frowned as he put his car in gear. "Maybe she wasn't lying after all."

**In Neji's room**

The room was vacant, but not empty. There were still obvious signs of Neji floating about it, and the thousands of manikins and empty to full racks of clothes were proof enough that he spent a lot of his life up here than at his other, cleaner house. The bed was still a mess since from god knows when and so were the bathroom and living room. The only places that still looked decent were the kitchen, thank god, and surprisingly enough the work station he created. The messy look seemed to belong next to the rack of clothes.

"The room's a mess because Neji doesn't want anyone to clean it." Akari_ –_she thinks_ –_began.

"He keeps saying something about it being his inspiration." Minori continued. "But aside from that, it's still durable, ne?"

"Yeah." Tenten smiled, taking in a deep breath. His cologne was still fresh.

"I doubt he would be back tonight, but you can still stay if you want." Akari started.

"Well…it's not that I don't want to it's just that-"

"You rather have Neji here with you." Minori cut in.

Tenten blushed at her then abruptly turned in attempts to hide it, but the both of them caught it and smiled deviously behind her back. "N-no, that's not it. It's…clothes! I have to work in the morning, and I don't have any clothes with me, so…"

"All the clothes on this rack have your name on them." Came one of the twins voice.

Tenten started off in her direction and saw the rack the girl was looking through with jealousy in her eyes. "They're all cute…and I think some of them are suitable for an office, ne." Minori sung as she pulled a dress out with excited eyes before putting it back sadly.

"W-well what about food?"

"The fridge is full." The other, Akari, called. "He hardly ever eats whenever he's here. This is his strictly business place…unless he has someone with him."

"Well…um."

"Tenten-san." Akari began. "Please stay. You obviously came here with the intention. There's more than enough stuff for you here to use."

Tenten stared at her, finally seeing the difference between the two as they both stared back. Akari was the responsible one, the one that was probably born first and made sure that she played the older role ever since then while Minori was the exact opposite. Minori was playful to another level compared to her sister, though at times Akari would join in too. She was always looking for the easy way out while Akari tried hard for her wanting. So, in short, they were the same, yet so different. Their way of thinking was similar, but the way they go about their lives were different.

_I think I like Akari better._ Tenten thought.

"What about my underwear?" Tenten finally asked, feeling triumphant in the question that caught even them off guard. "I'm going to need new ones for tomorrow."

"If no one's seen you in them yet" Minori began "Then why bother changing them."

…_I was right about their attitudes._

"What she means," Akari began with a stern voice meant for her sister. "Is that we can wash them for you. You'll have them back in the morning all clean and ready to use by the time you wake up."

"I don't think I'm that comfortable with that."

Akari tilted her head a little as if she was studying Tenten before she shrugged then started for the door. "I guess you'll just have to wear dirty underwear, then."

Beside her sister, Minori laughed and started heading out, but not after looking over her shoulder dastardly and smiling a slick smile with her tongue out. "You really are, cute, Tenten. I see why Neji-sama is addicted to your body."

"He's what?" Tenten began, not liking the sound of that coming from such a beautiful girl. "What's that supposed to mean, and who are you two?"

"I'm Minori and that's Akari." Minori smiled when they stopped and turned.

"I know that!" Tenten barked. "I mean who are you two to Neji? Why do you have a key to this place? I thought only residence, housekeepers and such get the keys."

"Do we not look like we work here?"

"No."

"Shoot." Minori cried.

"I thought we were pretty close with this outfit though." Akari began.

"None of the workers are wearing maid and butler outfits. No one out there was wearing those outfits! Who are you?"

"Fine." Akari boasted a she stepped back into the room. "We'll tell, only if you let us wash your underwear."

"What?"

"That's our only request. Take it or leave it." Minori added. "Besides, we were going to replace the sheets anyways."

Tenten stared once again, feeling less comfortable around them than from before. It wasn't that she didn't like gays or lesbians. Her coworker was gay and Essence was for both sides…then there was Ino, who just confused the hell out of her, but these two were like no other. Open about everything, especially, for some unknown reason, her underwear.

"We're straight by the way." Minori suddenly boomed. She seemed to be reading Tenten's face and that thought only scared her more. But above all, Tenten wanted to know who they were to Neji –her man.

"…Fine."

**Later on**

So…she was wrong. To start, both Akari and Minori had absolutely no interest in Neji. If anything, they thought of him as a teacher or a father…even a grandfather of all things. They knew Neji because they were and still are his personal models. Whenever he called for them, whether they're in another shoot or not, they come rushing to his side like dogs that were called by their master. The reason being, they owe their model life to him.

When Neji first started out, his teacher told him and everyone else in the class, that, in order to participate in Japans most watched fashion show, the Winter Watch, they had to get their own models with their own money and manage them on their own behind the curtains. No help will be assigned and no one was allowed more than two models, so, being the cocky man Neji was, he refused to use his uncle's money or his family's name to get a model the easy way. Instead, he went out looking for someone himself. In the end he found these two, beautiful even then, on the streets selling their bodies to make a living –since their parents sold them at the age of 17 to pay off their family's debt. He paid them double but not for sex or anything else along those lines, little did they know then, but for them to be his models.

They accepted, of course, and went on and helped win the fashion show for Neji with their confidence in the outfits, in pleasing the crowd and in Neji's talent. Ever since then they've been getting requests to show up for photo shoots and such, and they owed their success as models to Neji. So, because of him keeping them off the streets, they promised to always be his models over anyone else.

After hearing all of that, Tenten couldn't help but feel sorry for them and a little hateful towards herself for accusing them of being in a relationship with Neji. Now, as she sat between the two of them, flipping through the many photo shoots they have been in for Neji's clothing lines. Each and every one of them had the big words "The faces of Destiny". **(1)** And, as if to add on to her displeasure, they're older than she is.

"So" Akari began as she and her sister stood with Tenten's clothes and the old bed sheets in hand. "We'll have these back in the morning, as promised."

"By, Tenten san." Minori hollered as she closed the door behind her, finally leaving Tenten alone.

_I feel like an ass._ She thought as she flopped behind her on the now changed bed in a big, possibly Neji's, shirt without caring bout flashing anyone since there was no one there._ I feel like a big fat ass, but not the good kind of fat ass, the kind with all the ugly dents and bumps and stretch marks that no one wants to see when they plan to get in the same waters, that kind of ass._

She rolled over and face planted in the pillow before she pulled herself into a fetal position and stared at nothing but the white of the pillow. Under her instructions, the twins kept one pillow case unchanged. They said it was because she wanted to smell his scent whenever she was sleeping to dream about him easier, and she honestly couldn't deny that. Though the dream part was too much.

"I want to hear him." She cooed to no one in particular.

"I want to hear him." she said a little louder as she sat up and quickly scrolled through her phone, stopping only when she saw his name. Now the only thing she had to do was push the call button.

"Hello?" His voice came.

"Neji?"

"Tenten? What is it, are you okay?" he asked franticly. She heard him moving around, possibly getting out of bed to find some clothes. It was past midnight after all. "Do you need me to come to you?"

"No." She laughed lightly enough to calm him down. "I just wanted to talk, that's all."

For some time he didn't reply. "That's never the reason." He began. "Where are you?"

"At the hotel, but there's nothing wrong, seriously."

"Then why are you at the hotel? Did you get in okay?"

"Yes I did." She smiled, loving the frantic tremble in his voice. "And I'm here because I wanted to see you, but you weren't here, so…"

"Did the twins let you up?"

"Yes."

He sighed and she heard some more ruffling noises, possibly from him moving his hand through his hair –he often did that whenever he was frustrated...or tired. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I just came to see you."

"…Okay…" he began again. "When I get there in the morning you better tell me the real reason, Tenten."

"Fine." She sighed this time, feeling angry for not hiding things easier.

"Good…so what are you up to?"

She smiled and nearly removed the phone to laugh a little, but she held it in. "About to sleep, you?" she asked, feeling much happier now that she was hearing him.

"Same here, but I rather talk to you."

She laughed this time. "Is that so?"

"Hm." He grunted as another ruffle noise came through, followed by a few bumps and a click –possibly the light switch. "So…about that date? Have you made up your mind yet?"

Tenten smiled and laughed again. She was intoxicated from hearing his voice as is, but now she was…ecstatic beyond belief. She was, in short, in love.

"Yeah." She began. "I think I'm free Saturday."

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><p><strong>That was a somewhat long one I guess.<strong>

**Whoop, whoop! Two new people; BTW I only added them cause they will be used in later chapters so…get used to them.**

** (1) Destiny…Neji's clothing line. I haven't mentioned it in some time, huh?**


	24. Cloud Nine

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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><p><strong>AN: (^ 3^) ~'chu' (O.o)**

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><p>Chapter 24: Cloud Nine<p>

A pleasant felling washed over her as she lay comfortably in his bed. Her sleeping habits got the best of her, much as they always did, and she found her leg to be tossed over a bundle of covers that she held tenderly to her chest. She was awake, her internal alarm clock made sure of that, but she was far too comfortable to want to leave, let alone open her eyes.

A rush of wind blew in from the door she kept open last night, making her shiver just a little, but aside from that she refused to move from her spot. She was at bliss, and nothing, in her mind, could make this any better.

_Come on._ She thought as a frown formed on her face. _We have to go to work today. Tomorrow you can rest, so get up._

She sighed then turned over, dragging a heap of covers with her in her wake before she repositioned herself in a more comfortable position on the other side of the bed. With her legs propped and her head buried under the covers, she lay there half up in some kind of kneel._ Five more minutes, just five more minutes and I promise I will get up._

"Well" a deep and familiar voice grunted. "What a nice morning surprise."

Tenten shot up, face red but still hiding under the covers, and hands franticly trying to pull down the shirt she wore over her bare body. She heard several voices after her display, two female and one male that could shake mountains if he laughed any louder. Tenten whined once before throwing, after some time, the covers off of her head and pulling them over her lower body.

"Morning red cheeks."

"Neji" She huffed out of embarrassment as she struggled to calm down. Behind him stood the two identical twins dressed in two identical skin tight, long sleeved, purple dresses that stopped mid thigh, showing of their curves. "And the twins, of course; what did you two give up on the maid look?"

"Yeah." Akari answered simply.

"Don't try to change topics, Tenten chan." Minori pointed, dangling a wrist full of gold bangles of all kinds of thicknesses.

For a moment, Tenten was captivated by how much she had on one wrist, but she made herself look elsewhere, focusing instead on Neji's tall figure that stood just in front and between the two girls. He smiled at her just as Minori went back into her normal position, mimicking her sisters, probably unintentionally, and as Tenten studied them she could see something between the three. A kind of bond seemed to be placed between them, not a strong enough bond to call it love, but a bond stronger than a close friend one.

_How nice._ She thought. _ I want to be part of that too._

Then it hit her. The color came back to her cheeks as she watched them stare at her each with their own look of curiosity. "I do not have red butt cheeks!" She yelled as she dived back under the covers.

"I know." Neji chuckled. "I was talking about your face."

"But that doesn't mean that he wasn't staring at your arse." Minori sang as she and Akari left.

Tenten yelped, tucking the covers farther under her in attempts to hide. Though, in truth, she didn't even understand why she was doing this, why was she hiding form Neji? Minori she could understand, but not Neji. He was…well Neji. Plus, he's already seen all of her as is, so hiding was pointless and, quite frankly, stupid.

"Why are you hiding? Everything I just saw I've seen already, Tenten."

Apparently she wasn't the only one thinking that, but still, she couldn't find it in her to get up. So she stayed in her safe haven, face red for unknown reasons and eyes shut so tight, she was sure they took the liberty to seclude themselves in the back of her head. Even so, she wanted to look up, she wanted to see him again, but she couldn't.

"This is silly." Neji puffed, sounding a little irritated.

But before Tenten could even tell if he was or not, he had yanked the covers off of her and pinned her with his hands and knee against the bed, leaving Tenten staring with a confused face at him as everything that just sunk in hit her and a light blush began to form. Neji was hovering over her now, his face dim from the shadow that formed around him. His eyes seemed darker as well, distant even and his face looked cold if nothing else. But, even though she saw this, she didn't move. She didn't look away.

After some time of just staring, Neji smirked and sunk lower unto her till his lips were a papers width from hers. "You see now, don't you?" He spoke, sending shivers up her spine with every brush that came from his words. "I know too much about your body, for you to feel scared when I'm around."

"I know." Tenten finally spoke, though her tone was slow, small and uneven. "But, when I saw you I…I couldn't stop myself. I couldn't look at out without felling…shy."

Neji was about to close the distance between them when the door behind them opened, making the both of them turn, to the best of their abilities, towards their intruder. And there she stood, face blank and unreadable as she stared at the two locked in such a passionate position. Tenten couldn't tell which twin it was for she turned and left with her hands held in surrender before she could look her over thoroughly.

"That's Minori for you." Neji sighed as he climbed off of her, pulling her into a sitting position as well.

Tenten looked at him with a surprised face. "You can tell the difference between the two of them?"

"Well I've known them since they were 19, so if I didn't know the difference that would make me a horrible person. Besides, whenever I'm here, these two often come around simply to annoy me, so finding out their differences proved to be rather easy. I'm sure you've seen it."

"Well yeah…" Tenten began, tucking her knees under the shirt so as to hide herself much to Neji's displeasure. "Akari is more mature than Minori, but when they are the exact same from head to toe it's all too hard to separate the two."

"You'll get used to it." Neji smiled as he scooted closer to her, taking her up in his arms. "But for now, as I recall, someone has work to attend to."

"Shit!" Tenten yelled as she jumped up. "Hoshiyama san is going to kill me."

"Who?"

"My boss; He's this overly strict guy that tries just a little too hard to get his employees to have _fun_ while working. Of course it doesn't work, because everyone's all terrified of him when he's being nice."

"Are you?"

"I don't know. I guess. Why are you asking all these questions all of a sudden and where are my underwear?"

"They're in the bathroom along with a toothbrush and wash cloth."

Tenten paused in her rush then turned on Neji briefly before she rushed into the bathroom, smiling. "You call the little towel a wash cloth?" she hummed as she started dressing.

"You call it a little towel? How childish."

"At least I don't sound old."

"Alright fine, but let you call it a little towel in front of someone and watch how they react. They'll think that you really are a child."

Tenten growled a little as she brushed her teeth, but made no move to speak seeing as she would only sound more like a child and prove him right. But her not speaking didn't stop Neji.

"My friends are calling me a lolicon now."

She gagged a little, choking on her spit when she attempted to laugh at Neji's sudden confession. She heard him move from outside the door as she regained her composure.

"They won't believe me when I say that you're over twenty. I don't blame them though, you do look the type."

"But I'm not, am I?" Tenten questioned as she opened the door with the shirt back on. "I'm no innocent girl, Neji."

"Who said anything about innocent?" He asked, pulling her in as he fell back on the bed. "Being a lolicon means that I'm interested in women or children with a childlike face."

"So you like little girls?"

"Ha ha, Tenten but that's a no. I just happen to like this _woman_ that looks like a little girl."

"Which means you like little girls." Tenten confirmed as she sat up and stared down at him.

Neji was about to protest, but the door to the room opened once again, and yet another twin, though Tenten couldn't tell till they spoke, stood at the door with yet another blank face. For a moment, she stood there staring before she bowed slowly and walked out, closing the door behind her.

"That had to be Akari." Tenten laughed as Neji sat up.

"Congratulations, captain obvious." He smiled, pushing her to the side as he stood. "I laid some clothes out for you, so hurry up and get dressed. We might be able to get you to work on time depending on how fast you can move."

"Whatever, sir Hoity-toity." She called just as he closed the door.

**At the shop**

The snow last night ended up being a snow storm of some sort. Yuuya found that out that morning on his way to class when he was stomping rather than walking through it. At first he was surprised, because it never really snowed this much let alone at all, but now he was just angry. The buses didn't come on time, the benches were buried under snow so he couldn't sit down, and an old woman was shaking half to death near him the whole while. In the end, he ended up getting his car, coming back only for the old woman, but leaving with 3 new people. By the time he dropped everyone off, taking money from everyone but the obaasan, and started for the shop, he was sure that he was late beyond belief. However…

"Who's that?" A student asked as a silver car slowly pulled over in the parking lot.

In seconds everyone's eyes were pointed in the direction. They all had seen Neji's car too many times to know that the shiny silver car, with blue headlights and near black windows was not their teacher's car, though it looked like it could be.

"I don't know." Meme cooed as she rubbed her hands and blew on them. "The color is too bright for Neji sama, don't you think?"

"His car is white, Meme. What are you talking about?" Kanae asked, making everyone else look her way."

"She blushed at the abundance of attention. "I-it's just that h-he has a…this black s-sports car a-and it's a two seat-er and…and…" she trailed off as her attention went back to the silver car and the man that was now climbing out of it.

"Yuuya?" Kanae screamed as he grew closer, and even though his whole face was completely covered, except his eyes, she still found out it was him. "What the hell! When did you get this?"She asked as she ran up to him with everyone fallowing behind.

The man in questioned pulled down his thick scarf and puffed a cloud of air out before he focused on the many people that surrounded him. "What's this? Why are all of you out here?"

"Neji's not here, but that doesn't matter where did you get that car?" Kanae yelled again.

He blinked at her before looking past her and everyone else to stare at the shop. "It was a present from my parents on my sixteenth birthday. It's no big deal. Why is Neji not here? He's never late?"

"How is having this kind of car no big deal, Yuuya?" Meme asked as she started for the thing carefully as if it would burn her if she so much as thought of touching it. "Plus, you're twenty-one now. Why haven't you been using this car if you've had it since you were sixteen?"

"If I did then they would use it as an excuse to drag me back to Okinawa."

"Who?"

"My parents. Is all this necessary? Shouldn't you idiots be worrying about getting in the shop instead of me? Damn it's cold!" he grumbled louder than anyone expected as he shoved his scarf back over his face.

Meme and Kanae were the only ones who smiled as everyone started for the doors once again to huddle together to keep warm. Meme breathed on her hands once more before stuffing them under her arms. Yuuya, who took it upon himself to study her, saw this and took her hands in his before stuffing them deep in his own coat pockets. He then turned to Kanae, who was watching their whole ordeal, and launched for her hands, ignoring Meme's complaints and Kanae's blush, and stuffed them in his other pocket before standing blissfully between the two.

"Are you seriously this sensitive to the cold?" Kanae asked, avoiding eye contact.

"What are you doing out here?" a deep voice asked.

Everyone but Yuuya, who was now glowering at the ground, turned to the sound of the voice. Neji, who was the one that asked, jumped a little to the sudden amount of pleading faces before regaining his composure and walking past each and everyone one of them.

"Did all of you leave your key to the back door at home?"

"That's because you're never late." Yuuya growled.

"Don't talk to Neji sama that way." A rather girlish voice howled, freezing everyone in their tracks as she walked through them till she was standing in front of Yuuya, staring at him eye to eye. "You have no right." She yelled again, her green eyes roaring with fierce annoyance. But that wasn't what made Yuuya freeze. What he was focusing on was both sets of green eyes that glared at his purple ones.

"Minori, Akari calm down. He is right, you know."

"So." One of the girls turned, leaving Yuuya's gaze to look at Neji.

"He still had no right." The other near cried.

"He meant no harm." Meme apologized curiously, tilting her head a little to the left as she watched the two girls.

"Oh, cute!" the one on the left cheered as she pulled Meme from Yuuya's grasp, wrapping her under her leather jacket. "So cute. What's your name?"

"Meme!" Kanae screamed, lunging for the small girl, though she never made it there, since the other girl gathered her as well.

"This one's cute too, Minori." The blond smiled, taking Kane's face into her hands to study her some more.

"Both of you stop, that's enough." Neji called, as he pushed the door open. "And you idiots," he yelled once more but at the students this time. "Get in, can't you see the door is open!"

Minori and Akari smiled his way then slowly walked in with their new toys in hand while everyone but Yuuya followed,

"You need to talk to her." Neji cooed just as Yuuya passed, surprising him to a halt. "Do it soon. Or your relationship with her will end up like the one with her last ex, Yuuya."

"Why are you trying to help us?" Yuuya growled. "Why would you risk that? I pretty much just gave up the game yet you're still so persistent on keeping me on the board. Stop playing with me Neji!"

"I'm not, and trust me when I say that I'm not doing this for you. Tenten will never be the same way unless she makes up with you. You didn't want it to end the way it did and it'd effecting you just as much as it is her."

"…what are you getting at?"

Neji smirked as he walked up to Yuuya and stopped by his side, staring ahead instead of at him as he spoke on. "I love Tenten."

Yuuya flinched.

"But I'd love her even more if she was truly happy." He looked at him then. "And you are the only one who can make her happy, seeing as you're the one that caused the whole to begin with."

At that last comment, Yuuya froze. Neji, however, walked off as if he did nothing, while Kanae, still wrapped in one of the girls' arms, watched the whole thing with sad eyes.

**With Tenten**

"So you'll help me?"

"Hmm…since it's you asking, yes." Ino cooed on the other side of the phone. "I'll call Honey and have him set an appointment for you right away. I'll call back when I get one set, okay?"

"Thanks Ino." Tenten sighed into the phone. "You are a life saver. I don't know what I would have done if things had gotten worse."

"Worse? What, were you late for work?"

"Correction, I am late for work."

"Yikes. Guess I'll let you go then, by Tennie."

"By." Tenten sighed once more before hanging up and rounding the corner, successfully running into none other than her boss.

"Hoshiyama san!" Tenten yelled. Behind him, she could see Ikuya and Essence either making fun of her or looking worried for her as she stood barely meters away from her desk. "What are you doing here?"

Hoshiyama raised an eyebrow. "That's what I should be asking you. What are you doing here instead of in your work station…working?"

"I am so sorry, sir. I forgot to set my alarm last night and-"

"Don't let it happen again, Tenten." He interrupted her as he walked past.

Tenten was left standing there looking utterly confused yet relieved at the same time and for a while she didn't, or rather couldn't move.

"Aw what?" Essence yelled. "Son of a…why didn't he go all up your ass about being punctual? Not fair so sadistic prick!"

Tenten smiled before she sat down at her desk. "I'm guessing I wasn't the only one who was late today."

"Yeah, but Essence wasn't nearly as late as you were." Ikuya chuckled.

"I understand that much, but he likes Essence. And he is a sadist, so treating her horribly comes to him naturally, ne."

"Shut up!" Essence growled as she rolled back into her cubicle.

Tenten and Ikuya simply laughed before going back to their own work spaces as well. She turned on her computer and instantly went to her emails, knowing that she had a lot to delete even if he said he wouldn't contact her anymore. To her surprise, there was only one email, and it wasn't from Kankuro.

…

_We need to talk._

_Yuuya_

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><p><strong>Whew! I did it. My yes hurt…<strong>

**Btw I know that Minori and Akari have met Meme before, but it was so long ago, and only once, that they all forgot.**


	25. Setting things Straight

**Disclaimer: I don't own this Manga**

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><p><strong>AN: SORRY!**

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><p>Chapter 25: Setting things Straight<p>

"Sorry guys. I have something I need to do today. I'll pay for lunch tomorrow, okay."

"Whatever." Temari sung through the phone. "Just make sure you don't ruin anything for yourself, Tennie."

"Like what?" Tenten asked as she parked her car in a very familiar parking lot.

"Your date." Another voice, Ino's voice, came. "You spent a long time with Neji as his little lap dog and now that you two are finally about to go out and do normal couple things, you decide to speak with your ex about your break up! That's the kind of shit that messes up your miserable life, Tenten. That's the kind of shit that just fucks up everything!"

"…Um…okay…"

"Sorry about that." Temari sighed. "Ino stole my phone. I guess these are the kind of topics that really gets to her."

"I guess. Well I have to go, tell Ino that it's not what she thinks for me, okay."

"No prob. By Tenten."

"By." Tenten uttered as she hung up the phone and stared off into the somewhat empty parking lot. She looked to her side and saw two very familiar cars; one white in color the other silver, then sighed again before she tightened the scarf around her neck, put on her hat, then headed outside with one goal in mind.

**At the Shop**

Yuuya sighed as he stared at his phone with darkened eyes. It had been some hours ago when he last emailed Tenten and there was still no reply. Neji had been the one to convince him to talk to her again, but at the rate things were going, it looked like he wouldn't even be able think about seeing her let alone talk to her. As far as he was concerned, things already turned out the way Neji said it would be. What with the way he left her crying in the shop like that, he was practically asking for the divine punishment from her, and quite frankly, he felt that he deserved it.

A vibration from his pocket made him jump a little, surprising the group of girls that surrounded him, and in moments he was on his feet and heading away from the peeping eyes. However, he found himself walking back to his station miserably with the phone slightly away from his ear.

"No, Ruka!" Yuuya growled as he sat back down. He no longer cared for the people around him. They could listen in as much as they wanted; the conversations with his cousin were never anything big.

"Because I said no." He yelled again. "Bull, Ruka…I know her better than you do and trust me when I say that she is in no way interested in you."

"Yuuya who's that?" Kanae asked.

"My cousin." He huffed, holding the phone from his head as the little voice on the other end rambled on about god knows what. "Nobody important though."

"You ran off as if it was." Meme started, turning awkwardly in Minori's hands to face the crew. "Were you expecting someone else?"

Yuuya faced the four girls that were now staring at him with wide and probing eyes then sighed as he sat back at his station, ignoring them by occupying his self with his work. He barely got three marks on the page when he suddenly growled and ripped the page off the easel and tossed it behind him in the overflowing trash basket. "Will you guys stop staring at me? You're throwing me off."

"From the looks of it" Akari began with her eyes fixated on the trash. "We're not the ones that are causing your concentration to wither. It seems that something else is going on with you."

"And blaming us is not the way to go about things, ne?" Minori finished as she picked up one of the balled up scraps and unfolded it to look it through. "Besides, none of these look anywhere near as good as your original work looks. I mean, honestly, these designs here deserve to be shredded then burned."

"What the hell." Yuuya complained. "How would you know how my work looks?"

"Neji sama keeps pictures recorded of his students work in these huge folders back at his hotel room." Akari answered. "Minori and I are always snooping around in there and all so naturally finding your binder was bound to happen."

"We've seen all of your binders as well." Minori smiled. "We even read all the commendations he wrote about each piece, and you three always got good marks. There were hardly any bad things said, and lately, Yuuya, your work only seemed to be improving."

"His learning pace is almost scary: is what he said on your most recent one."

"We were so inspired by your work that we even wanted to see you work for ourselves, so we kept begging him to take us along with him one day until he finally said yes."

"The piece you already finished is good, Yuuya. It's simple yet cute, something a real model would love to wear, but these designs that you threw away don't even come close to your earlier pieces from when you were behind Meme." Akari confessed after throwing away one of the balled pieces.

"At this rate, that spot will no longer be yours, but third chair sounds good enough, ne Akari?" Akari shook her head before the both of them walked off towards Neji's office without another word to either of the people that were left standing in utter shock at their words.

"Yuuya…hey, don't listen to them." Kanae tried to console him. "There is nothing wrong with your work…or third chair for that matter. That part was kind of mean."

"No their right." He sighed as he got up and started for the door.

"Where are you going?" Meme asked.

"Coffee break." He sighed, throwing on only his coat. "I'll be back."

"Be careful." Kanae called, but he was out the door before she could finish.

**Outside the shop**

He blinked, because for a while that was all he could do. He didn't know if it was because of the cold winds slapping his face or if it was because of the shock of seeing her standing before her, red faced and innocent in every way. He opened his mouth in attempts to speak, but the words wouldn't form.

This wasn't a first for him. Several times he felt breathless, speechless whenever he was around her because of the way she made him feel with just a smile or a glance his way. Even know, when they were no longer together, he couldn't help but blush at the sight of her big brown eyes staring him down. He was sprung, and he only just now realized this.

"Tenten." He managed, slumping over a little when he finally thought to breath.

"Hey." She said in a soft voice that sent shivers up and down his spine. "Where you headed?"

"The coffee shop around the corner." He pointed behind him when he spoke. "You here to see Neji?"

Tenten smiled a little then took a deep breath. "No. I'm here to see you."

He blinked again.

"Do you mind if I come along with you?"

"…No. Not at all."

She smiled again before she started walking with Yuuya leading. "Thank you." She whispered, though he couldn't hear her through the winds.

_Shit!_ He thought. _Now what? What am I supposed to do in this type of situation? I wasn't expecting to meet this early. She hasn't even responded to the message. I thought she was ignoring me already…Man this is awkward. Why is the walk to this damned shop suddenly so long?_

"Hey Yuuya where're the two cuties?"

"They're still at the shop." Yuuya sighed, glad that they finally made it in. "I'll bring them back a coffee so can you hook us up, Hansuke san."

"Gotcha, and how may I help the little lady."

"She would like a caramel mocha latte with extra caramel."

"Huh?"

"Got it. Be back in a second."

Tenten stared at Hansuke for some time till she could no longer see him, then turned her attention to Yuuya who was looking diligently through the menu that was dyed with all types of cakes, brownies, cookies and lots of other delicious sweets.

It took some time, but after a while, he finally looked up and placed the menu down. "What?" he asked awkwardly with a small squeak-like voice. "Was I wrong about the coffee?"

"No." Tenten started as Hansuke came back with four coffees on a tray. "You got that right. I was just wondering how is all."

"This guy has an eye for most everything." Hansuke answered with a low chuckle. "With just one look he could tell anyone their like and dislikes. By the way I'm Miyamoto Hansuke. Nice to meet you Miss…"

"Oh! Tenten. Just Tenten. It's nice to meet you as well Miyamoto-san."

"Oh no, not Miyamoto san; it makes me feel old."

"You are old Hansuke-san."

"Anyways…" Hansuke growled towards Yuuya. "You can call me Hansuke-san, Just Tenten-chan."

Tenten giggled as she took her coffee and sipped at it, tasting it. After a couple more small taste tests she decided it was rather good and took a bigger sip before setting it back down. "So Yuuya" She began. "About that talk."

"Oh…that…yeah. Look Tenten I-" He stopped and faced Hansuke's curious face that watched between the two.

"What?" he asked.

Yuuya glared harder then sighed and went on back to sipping at his coffee while Tenten smiled a little before giggling again.

"Oh. Oh! I'm in the way, aren't I?" He asked. Yuuya simply shook his head before facing him again with a fake smile plastered on his face. "Yeah." He began. "Mind leaving for a bit."

Hansuke lifted his hands in defeat, taking Meme and Kanae's coffees in hand. "I'll just go and keep these warm then."

Tenten laughed again and sipped at her coffee again before she sighed and faced Yuuya simply with a smile. "You sure do have some weird connections, Yuuya."

"Yeah." He sighed, shaking his head a little. "They make me wish I never knew them sometimes."

"I don't know. I like them…so…" Tenten started her face growing dark with seriousness. "About that talk."

Yuuya's smile vanished instantly as it dawned on him why they were here alone to begin with. He sighed, for what may have been the fiftieth time that day then looked up. "Okay."He began. "I'm just going to be straight about this right now and say that…I love you, Tenten."

**Back at the shop**

Ignoring her was hard. Ignoring him leave with her under his arm was even harder, and Kanae found that out the hard way. She didn't mean to, she was just going to ask Neji about using some of the fabric even though the station was closed. She didn't want to see them leave together, hell she didn't want to see her to begin with since she knew how Yuuya felt for her, but she did. She saw here, Tenten, and she couldn't help but wonder why she came here to see the man that broke up with her. She tried to forget about it, to forget about him, but she couldn't. She saw him too many times, and because of that she fell for him…again.

"Kanae, why are you standing in the middle of the shop like that?" Neji asked, pulling her out of her phase.

Kanae blinked a couple of times then faced him and smiled weakly. "Sorry, sensei. I'll move now."

"Sensei? What's wrong with you Kanae, you never call me sensei."

"Oh it's nothing. I just thought that I should try it you know."

"You saw Yuuya and Tenten didn't you?"

That was when she froze. She stopped walking off and just stopped moving completely. She wanted to turn but she couldn't find the strength to let Neji see her pained face, so she just stared off at the floor for sometime before she breathed in ratchet breaths to calm her nerves. "You saw." She finally whispered.

"No." another voice came. "We saw. We just told Neji."

"Yeah we didn't know that Tenten and Yuuya had a thing going on between them."

"That's because they don't." Kanae suddenly barked, turning her whole body to face the group of three. "I mean, they did, but that was before, not now, and there is nothing going on between them. At least there wasn't supposed to be."

"Oh." Minori started, but Akari covered her mouth before her sister could say anything crude that would further hurt the girl.

"You still like him." Neji began as he walked up to her.

"So." She snapped. "You still like Tenten. As a matter of fact, how can you be like this when you know that those two are seeing each other behind your back?"

"First off," Neji began as he took Kanae's arm and guided her to his office with the twins following closely behind. "They're not doing anything behind my back. They're just talking, and that's because of me."

"What?" all three girls questioned once behind closed doors.

"Yes. I told him that he needed to talk with Tenten to improve their relationship and-"

"Why would you do that?" Minori yelled.

"I was getting to that." Neji barked, angry from being interrupted. "Anyways, like I was saying, I told him to speak with Tenten to improve their relationship and their conditions."

"Eh? Their conditions. What do you mean by that?"

"Minori can I please finish speaking. Please!"

The girl pouted a little but stayed quiet nonetheless and allowed him to continue once again. "Now, like I was saying again, the both of them are in critical condition. Tenten, being the naïve girl she is, didn't know how to fix herself back up from such a breakup and Yuuya, being the boy that he is, didn't know how to separate his emotions from work, so, in a way, it affected the both of them. Basically, the happier Yuuya is the better his grades and the happier Tenten is the truer she is to herself."

"So why does Yuuya have to be the one to cause that happiness?" Kanae asked. "Aren't you afraid that he'll take her from you again? I mean don't get me wrong, you really are a piece of work Neji, but so is Yuuya, and right now she's with him while in a critical state. I don't think that was very smart of you."

"I agree with her." Akari finally spoke. "If she's in such a state and he was the one that caused it, then being with him probably will fix the whole, true, but what will it be filled with? Love, ne? So why let this happen."

"Don't you know that Yuuya still loves her?" Kanae near screamed.

"Yes I do." Neji answered simply. "And I know that Tenten loves him as well."

"Then-"

"But…"He interrupted. "Her love for him is completely different from his towards her. She loves him true, but it's more like a family type of love more than anything else."

"And what if you're wrong, Neji-sama." Minori said from behind him in his chair. "What if she loved him just not as much as he did to her and it made you think that she loved him like a family member? What if she really did love him?"

"She doesn't. That I can assure you. Now, please calm down, because all this worrying is for nothing. Nothing romantic is going to happen between those two."

"And if it does?" Akari asked, cocking her head to the side a little.

Neji turned on her with watchful eyes that seemed to speak for themselves. "If something does happen…then I will take her back."

**With Tenten and Yuuya**

The walk back to the shop seemed too short. Goofy yes, but short nevertheless. Maybe it was because they were happy or maybe it because they were all warm and fuzzy from the coffee's. They couldn't tell you, but one thing they could say was that they were overjoyed, completely content with one another's presence. And with their hands tangled together and their laughter floating through the quiet streets about them, they couldn't be any happier.

"Man I should have brought my gloves." Yuuya complained once they made it in the shop, oblivious to just how loud he was.

"That's your own fault." Tenten laughed as she climbed the stairs. "Here Kanae, We bought you and Meme some coffee." She sung as she walked over the girl who was smiling weakly at her.

"Thanks."

Tenten smiled, obviously not detecting any animosity in her words before she turned and saw Neji staring at her with an unreadable emotion. Her first reaction was to stare back, but after some time she damn near flipped. "Shit." She yelled as she pulled out her phone and checked the time.

"Shit. I need to go." She yelled then turned and gave Yuuya a quick hug, and rubbed Meme's head playfully.

Kanae and the twins couldn't help but look Neji's way with wary expressions, but they didn't get anything back from him. His expression was still unreadable, even as Tenten approached him much too quickly for everyone's own good. Then, in one swift movement, she was one her tippy-toes, pressing her lips to his while he stood with surprise on his face that everyone but Yuuya shared as well.

"See you Saturday, Neji." Tenten smiled as she ran off leaving the whole class staring after her.

After some time, Neji's shoulders relaxed and a breath of surprise was released. He then looked Kanae's way, then the twins, and then to Yuuya who was staring at him with agitation.

"Jealous?" He asked.

Yuuya scoffed after turning back to his stand. "You have no idea."

**With Tenten**

"Well?" Essence asked just as Tenten got off the phone with Sakura.

"Well what?" She teased.

"Stop screwing around Tenten, you know damn well what the well is for. Now answer me. The suspense was killing me."

"It really was." Ikuya grumbled as he wheeled out of his cubicle. "So, Tennie, what happened? Was it good, or was it bad?"

Tenten sighed as she sat down in her chair. "I'll tell you one thing it wasn't good."

Essence visible slumped. She looked more hurt than Tenten should have been had things went bad. Tenten smiled at her friend's reaction. "It was perfect."

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><p><strong>Sorry for the lateness. I don't know what got over me. Anyways, here you guys go. It turns out Neji didn't or rather wouldn't let Tennie go, and Yuuya, poor innocent Yuuya, still loves her, but Kanae still loves him as well. Hm. It makes me wonder what's going to happen later on.<strong>


	26. The Date Part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own this Manga**

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><p><strong>AN: I am so sorry, but I'm back, hopefully. If I sound different to any of you guys please tell me then, in order to help the both of us, tell if I changed for the better or worse.**

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><p>Chapter 26: The Date part 1<p>

Surprisingly, Saturday came by faster than Tenten could have expected it to. One minute she was lounging in her office, talking to Ikuya and Essence about the date, saying things like; "I can't wait." And "I wonder how the food will taste", now, it's the day of, and she was getting out of work with a worried face on. Outside, Yuuya stood, leaning against his car lazily, looking like he was worth a million dollars. Inside the car, Kanae and Meme sat in the back, leaning out the window or looking over the roof of the car.

He smiled at her as she walked up then reached his hand out in a princely manner, taking hers and kissing it lightly before opening her door and waving his hand in front of her. "Your chariot awaits, Madam." He joked.

Meme laughed form her spot at the window and Kanae scoffed, falling back into the back seat roughly and crossing her arms. Tenten smiled at her, nonetheless and scooted past Yuuya to take her seat, allowing her face to fall back into a state of confusion as he walked over to the driver's side.

"What's wrong, Tenten?" Yuuya asked as he buckled up. Meme and Kanae looked at her from their spots in the backseats, worry dying one of their faces.

"Nothing, I'm just, worried. I mean, I haven't been on many dates, and the one I have been on with you I didn't have to worry about looking all fancy or anything like that because you told me to go out in my pajamas. I mean, where are we going; the movies, some fancy restaurant, a not-so-fancy restaurant, a walk through the town, where?!"

"Well you don't need to worry about all that." Kanae huffed as she sat back and stared at her phone. "We have four hours until your little date with Neji, and for those three hours we are taking care of you."

Tenten sighed. It was true. She had heard from Meme who heard from Neji that he wanted the three of them to help her out with her preparations for their date. It wasn't that he thought she was incapable of doing so, he just wanted to make it less stressful for her while giving his best three students a little more experience outside of classes.

"Don't worry, Tenten." Meme cooed as she looked out the window, smiling. "We are very experienced with these situations. Besides, Neji-san has already told us where you two will be going."

Tenten looked up, ready to speak, but she was interrupted by Yuuya. "WE have also been instructed to not tell you anything besides the fact that it's a very fancy restaurant." He started. "And it's very expensive and that he doesn't want you to freak about the price or anything."

Tenten frowned at Yuuya then sat back, deciding to stare out the window for the time being. She had hardly remembered anything besides her date with Neji this whole day. She vaguely remembered talking to Ikuya and Essence about her future plans with "Mr. Wonderful", as Ikuya refers him as, and that they were overjoyed and very, very loud about it, but that was now the past. Now, in the present, she was sitting in the car of her Ex/best-male-friend, staring out the window, going somewhere completely new to her for someone else's sake, anticipating her date with the Japans most popular and desired fashion designer, while the obviously-in-love-with-him, beautiful, best friend is sitting in the back seat with the other love-him-like-a-brother best friend beside her, trying to calm the latter down, and there was only one thing she had to admit about her situation…this was awkward.

"So," she began, pushing her bangs out of her eyes as she turned to the backseat. "Did anything fun happen to you guys in my days of absence?"

Meme smiled at her, but shook her head no. "We have been doing work most of the time. There's this big thing coming up for us, so…"

"It was rather peaceful when you weren't around." Kanae added, still looking angrily out the window. She then turned and smiled brightly. "No offense, though."

Tenten smiled back, hiding the "offense-taken" feeling she was getting from her words under it, then turned back to look out the window, allowing, once again, the awkward silence that built up between them to reform.

"Do you want to know who's doing what with you, Tenten?" Meme broke in, smiling sweetly as she always did.

Tenten smiled at her in return, feeling that she was smiling unnecessarily a lot today, then shook her head and faced her. "Sure."

"I'm picking out your outfit." Yuuya started, making Tenten look his way.

"I have your makeup." Meme started. "And Kanae has your hair."

"The image we have for you is sophisticated yet sexy." Yuuya cooed while smiling at some image he was seeing in his head. "Beautiful yet playful, professional yet intoxicating-"

"I think she gets the concept, Yuuya." Kanae cut in, her eyes tearing through the back of the car seat. Needless to say, the car got quiet again after that.

And the awkwardness came back again.

_I have to fix this._ Tenten though, sighing as she sat back and stared out the window as a familiar scene came up.

**Shopping**

"Is this really all that necessary, Yuuya?" Tenten asked as she changed in what was possibly the tenth dress he had pulled out for her. "I mean, you're only making it harder for yourself by pulling out all of these dresses."

"That doesn't matter." Yuuya called as he threw another dress over the changing room door. "We need to pick out more than one anyways. Neji said that it was a two day date."

"It's a what?"

He was quiet, possibly because he left to go find more dresses that could possibly flatter Tenten's assets, that, or he realized he had said something that wasn't sup[posed to be said and made a run for it. either way, he wasn't around the door anymore, giving her a chance to rest and step out of the cramped place.

She sighed, running her hands through the soft fabric of the dress that clung tightly to her small waist. She turned then, staring at her reflection in the mirror, and then smiled at the woman looking back at her. She looked darling in the long black dress that had a cowl neckline and a slit from the ground up to her thigh on the right side. She turned, allowing her to admire the woman some more, and showed her the back drop on the dress that pooled at the curve between her butt and back.

Tenten laughed just as Kanae came up, holding a dress of her own, one that was similar to the one Tenten had on, just with a sweetheart neckline, straps, and a wavy split; no back drop. She smiled, reaching out to take the dress from her, before she turned and placed it on the hook.

"You have a cute fashion sense." She complimented, finally getting a smile out of her as she bowed a little in thanks. "So," she started. "How have you advanced with getting Yuuya?"

Kanae flushed then ducked her head, trying her best to hide her emotions, but failing miserably. Tenten smiled at her as if he was looking at a younger sibling, and then looked about as Kanae looked back up, smiling like she hadn't understood. "What do you mean?" she asked, turning Tenten around in attempts to unzip her.

"Well you like him don't you?"

She flipped, her face turning beat red, before she shoved Tenten into the dressing room. She looked around before she went in after her. "How did you find out?" Kanae yelled as she leaned against the door.

"Well," she started. "Yuuya told me about your little experiment with him and Neji, first off. Second, I always see you staring at him, and the way you look at him is practically screaming that you want him. So, it's pretty obvious."

"To everyone but him." Kanae complained, leaning back against the locked door. "I mean I do everything to try to get him to notice me. He does, but never the way I want him to. I don't understand what it is I have to do to get that idiot to understand!"

"It's probably because of your time with him before. He probably thinks that you aren't being serious with him anymore, or that you're acting like you like him not _like_ him like him."

"But I am!" she complained, as she turned Tenten around, zipping her back up before she inspected her. She scrunched up her nose in a manner that reminded Tenten of Ino, before she shook her head. "Take it off. I don't like it anymore."

She did as she was told, turning back around in order to get unzipped again. "Well," she started. "Had I known of your feelings for him, I would have not agreed to go out with him."

Kanae looked up, smiling at Tenten as the dress dropped and pooled around her feet. She stepped closer, placing her delicate hands on her hip, smiling broader as her hand traced her frame, ending at Tenten's stomach. Kanae's cold fingers had Tenten hissing, flexing her stomach unintentionally under her touch. "It wouldn't have mattered." Kanae started, allowing her hand to drop from the girl's body. "Besides, you wouldn't have even known me like that to care enough, and even if you had known me," she stopped and smiled again, noticing how Tenten was now hiding her body from the girl shyly. "Yuuya would have never let a girl like you skip him up without a fight."

"Oh."

"So," Kanae sighed. "What do I do? How do I get my message through to him?"

That was when the door opened, making the both of them jump up and attempt to hide Tenten's bare body. They calmed down, however, after realizing that it was just Meme. "Tell him." She cooed, handing the girls three dresses. One was a layered, black, high low dress with an empire waistline and beading juts under the bust. The second was another black, key hole, halter top dress that looked like it stopped in the middle of the thigh, and the third dress was a long, strapless, chiffon white dress with a sweetheart neckline. Either way, they were all cute and eye catching.

"I'm more than sure that he can't say that you weren't serious if you were."

Tenten nodded as she reached for the three dresses, pulling out the keyhole dress first. "Where is he anyways?"

"The last time I saw him he was pulling an empty clothing rack behind him that had a good five dresses on them. I believe he's still looking."

"Great, so, we'll be here long."

Kanae smiled then started to head out. "I'll leave you to get dressed."

"Thanks." Tenten sighed. "And Kanae, please, just try to tell him, please."

She smiled, nodding once before she walked out with Meme following.

**At Tenten's apartment *(I don't recall visiting here much so…yeah)**

Yuuya was happy. He was, unfortunately for his father, the kind of guy that enjoyed shopping with females. He loved watching them, studying them in their natural habitat and seeing what all they liked and disliked about certain clothing brands. He loved acting like he was a well dressed employee at the stores and matching women with an outfit, complete with the jewelry and shoes if provided, that best suited their assets. He loved seeing their happy faces afterwards, and even didn't mind that he gets mistaken for one of the men that looked like he liked girls but, unfortunately, liked men. Whenever he was out shopping, he felt like he was in a male heaven, though most don't see what he sees in a mall filled with beautiful women.

Tenten was easy to shop for. She wasn't picky, she didn't like disappointing anyone so she tried on everything, even the thing she originally thought she wouldn't like but liked afterwards. She even looked good in damn near everything she put on. Her small physique made it easier to find her outfits, and her cute face and full body made it easier to spruce her up. In the end, however, he couldn't pick just one outfit for her. All of them each picked a dress that looked drop-dead-gorgeous on her.

Kanae had found a red one shoulder, natural waistline, with a cut out back, a sequin embellishing and a keyhole front. The dress itself had made Tenten look taller, something she liked, and it hugged all of her features. She loved the dress, but that wasn't the only one she loved.

Meme had picked another Keyhole dress; a black halter top that stopped at Tenten's thighs and hugged her body just as tight as Kanae's did, and, once again, she loved this one. She loved the way it complimented her figure while showing off her bust just enough to taunt and tease. She loved the length too. It was a comfortable length, not too short, not too long.

Yuuya, on the other hand went with a black and white, natural waistline, strapless, sweetheart neckline, dress, with a sparkle skirt, and, naturally, he bought accessories. Tenten, as expected loved this one. To her, it looked like one of those casual dresses she could wear often, so, it was a keeper. Unfortunately, it wasn't the kind of dress she wanted to wear to this kind of outing. So his was out for the date dress option.

"I think." Tenten, started, placing her finger on her chin. "I think I'm picking Kanae's dress." She smiled, making Kanae scream as if she just won a serious award. "But I want to keep Yuuya's and Meme's dresses as well. I think I could wear them some other time."

"Fine by me." Yuuya started as he packed the other two dresses back into their bags. "By the way, you really need to remodel this place."

"What?"

"Yeah, I'm agreeing with Yuuya." Kanae moaned as she looked around, hugging herself closely. "Honestly I expected more from you. I mean, I thought it would look…well…regular, but damn, Tenten. Put some variety in your home."

"Oh shut up!" Tenten complained as she sat down, looking around at the small apartment. After some time, she smiled, deciding that she didn't care.

"Tenten, someone's at the door." Meme called. "Should I let them in?"

"Yeah." She started, standing up to scratch her butt, getting a laugh out of Kanae out of that. "It's probably Ino. She said she would help with my makeup and hair and stuff."

"Wait." Kanae said with a jolt. "Ino, as in Yamanaka Ino. That Ino?"

"The one and only." Ino smiled, stepping in past Meme. "Hello, gorgeous. I don't think I had the pleasure of meeting you." She looked around. "Or, any of you, really…Oh, but I have seen you before and I must say that you're even hotter in person." She was pointing at Yuuya, taking note of Kanae's sudden loss of interest in her being there.

"Hey, Ino."

"Water-bug." She stated –a name that only she calls me whenever we're alone. "Who's your peeps…besides, you know, Yuuya."

"Well the small one is Meme and the hot one is Kanae."

"Aw, thanks." Kanae started, regaining her confidence. "And Yamanaka-san, let me just say that it is a pleasure to meet you."

Ino beamed. "Ino is just fine, hun. Now, unless I'm here for some other reason, let's get this party started. Tenten, You're about to get the best makeover of your life."

**With Tenten a Couple of Hours later**

"What happened with you having my makeup and Meme having my hair?" she asked as she drove through the streets looking for Hinata's house, a.k.a. her "car safe zone". She was on the phone with Kanae, fully dress, primed and prepped and ready to wait for her "Man", as Ino had addressed him, to come pick her up from his cousins.

"Well, we got a little too carried away with the shopping. Sorry." Kanae laughed from the other end. "Hey are all your windows up?"

"Yes, and my heater is on but not on full blast. I have my heels in the front seat so that my feet wouldn't get so tired so fast and a have that ridicules sleeping cap over my head that you and Ino forced me to wear. I did everything you two told me to do so stop pestering me woman."

"Jeez, calm down, I'm just trying to help."

"You should be helping yourself. You still haven't told Yuuya about how you feel for him have you?"

"…"

"Kanae, you need to do that soon, or someone else will come and take him."

"Like you did." She joked.

"Yeah, yeah. You joke now, but it won't be funny when something does happen. Now, I gotta go. I see Hinata's house and his car is already outside."

"Okay."

They hung up and Tenten instantly let out a breath that she wasn't aware of holding as she pulled up behind Hinata's car. She took another deep breath and ripped the sleeping cap off, looking at herself through her rearview mirror. She smiled a little as she fluffed her hair then sighed, reaching for her shoes and putting them on quickly before she opened the door and stepped out.

"Tenten." Hinata cooed as she opened the door before Tenten could reach it. "Wow…you look…wow." She shook her head triumphantly in a Naruto like manner before she boldly stated: "I'd hit that if I swung that way."

Tenten laughed, stopping short of the door to regain herself, but it was harder than it had seemed. Hearing Hinata say something so out of character just made her crack up and loosen up. It made her feel like…herself.

She finally stopped laughed, whipping a tear from her eye then smiled at the girl who was knowingly smiling back at her. "Thank you." She sighed, walking up to hug her.

"Tenten." A deep voice called, making her tense back up a little.

She opened her eyes and felt her heart stop at the sight of him; his long dark hair was lose and flowing as he walked down stairs, smiling at her with wonder in his white eyes. He stopped at the base of the stairs and smiled softer, allowing her to look him over some more.

He wore one of his suites, naturally. A black one that complimented his every feature, the kind that made his pristine skin seem just as beautiful as the last time she had seen it, touched it, the kind that made him look lean and muscular and…jumpable. He looked, in short gorgeous.

"You look…wow." He finally said after stepping up to her, making her smile. She couldn't blame his response, though. The girls, and Yuuya, had worked hard on her, telling her specific things to do, buying her beautiful clothes and all the works that came with a complete makeover.

With on jeweled hand, rings borrowed from Ino, she moved a lock of her loos, curly hair, out of her face, then stepped farther into the house, reaching a hand out to Neji's tie to mess with it since he, being "perfect", didn't have anything to fix.

"That's what Hinata said." She smiled.

"Well, damn." He started as he slyly placed his hands on either side of her waist. "She beat me to the punch line."

Tenten laughed then pulled back, taking a hold of his hand before she walked out of the door Hinata held open for them. "I want her back by 12:00 Mr." She jokingly yelled.

"I can't promise that." Neji called as he walked around to the driver's side after opening Tenten's door.

Tenten watched him as he buckled up and started the car, a small smile seemingly plastered on his face. He looked at her, unknowingly making her heart skip a beat, before he moved in, cupping her face in his big hands, and kissed her passionately. Tenten, being her usual self, froze for a second before she opened her mouth, letting him take full access of her. Her hands shot up afterwards, cupping his face roughly in both of her hands, and pulled him closer, making the kiss deeper. She heard a moan, a low one that sounded familiar then realized that it was him and couldn't help but smile a little just as they broke, both breathing hard and a little red faced.

"You ready?" He asked.

She shook her head, looking away from him in attempts to control herself. She never understood why, but whenever she was around him, something in her clicked, and she became someone else, someone less stuck up, someone she grew to accept and want more of. She became a new woman.

And she liked that.

* * *

><p><strong>So this will be the last update on Microsoft word for some time. Until I get it on my computer I will have to use another thing called Office X something…any who! Just a little heads-up. I will be updating, just…expect more…mistakes. Cause word corrected me…often. <strong>


	27. The Date Part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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><p><strong>AN: Prepare for the random mess ups that may be hard to understand!**

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><p>Chapter 27: The Date Part 2<p>

The drive to the restaurant was a long one, but it was comfortable. After Tenten had calmed down from their intense kiss and the occasional fluttering of the chest feeling she got whenever she made eye contact with him, she was quiet. Thankfully, to ease her anxiety, there was music playing softly in the background. Classical from the sound of it, and, though it wasn't something she readily listened to in her car, she had to admit that she really liked it, enough to download it later even. The soothing sound was something she could use in her busy lifestyle to relax.

She sighed as she laid back comfortably in the seat and looked out the window to watch the passing lights yellows and greens and reds and blues flashed by in arrays of beauty and wonder. Parts of Tokyo passed by, making her look back in interest. A smile spread across her face. She had never been over here where everything looked golden and shiny and new and expensive. Even the trees looked liked they were imported from somewhere else. She had to admit, it looked amazing; the towering hotels, the BIG big business organizations, the people dressed in fur coats, the DOGS dressed in fur coats, everything. Everything looked over the top and fancy, so much so that it mad Tenten wonder just where exactly they were going today.

She was so caught up with the blinding lights and people that she hadn't noticed that everything disappeared until it was unnaturally darker in the car. Her face changed instantly from excitement to concern as she looked at Neji while he smiled, looking on without fixing her a glance. After some more quiet time with Beethoven playing in the background, she finally broke and faced him, making sure to make a noise even he couldn't resist.

"Neji." she moaned, pulling out the "i" part of his name, and, sure enough, he turned, briefly, then smiled at her expression.

"What?" he questioned as he tried, with no avail, to ignore her pouting face.

"Where are we going?"

"If I told you" he started "then it wouldn't be a surprise now would it?"

"Who cares if it's a surprise or not" she moaned, leaning back in her chair. "I feel freaked that we're going down a dark path leading into a bunch of trees that came out of no where. Every time I see something like this in movies the girl ends up getting raped and killed by the guy she thought was awesome and decent and SANE!"

"And what genre of movie was that, may I ask?"

"Horror, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that I am not comfortable with the situation your putting me in. I can feel the stress sweat coming now."

"Tenten, I assure you I'm not going to rape you nor kill you. I am only taking you out on a date."

She stared at him, watched as his smile grew tenfold, then huffed and sat back, figuring that, even if he was going to kill her, she was stuck in the car with him anyways and she had no idea on how to get to civilization again if she did manage to escape. "A lot of psychopaths say that same thing to calm down their victims."

"Your not my victim. The twins are, but, then again, their always overjoyed about everything me so..."

"Yeah, that doesn't count."

"Then how about my students?"

"With all the homework you give them? Yeah, they fit that position all too well."

"So their the victims?"

"Yup."

"And you're not my student are you?"

Tenten smiled, getting where he was going but answered anyways with a smile and a nod.

"Then doesn't that mean that you're not my victim?"

"Well..." Tenten started, smiling his way as her hand found its way across the car, landing ever so delicately on his lap. She smiled at his reaction to her touch then looked him in the eye to the best of her ability. "I guess I'M not the victim here, huh?"

"God we need to get here fast."

Tenten laughed as she sat back choosing, instead, to watch the many trees that passed by in place of the up-and-at-em busy lifestyle of the city. And, once again, the comfortable silence fell upon them and the sound of Mozart danced playfully about it, embracing it with its classical sound and rhythm.

Neji fidgeted a little beside her. He still felt the after affect of her hand creeping up is leg. It was something that was rather foreign to him. He was used to being the one to turn the women on, not the other way around. Now, at this moment, after she devilishly aroused him so easily, he found it hard to calm down, but he was comfortable. He felt peace to the silence and the music was soothing him once again, but, somewhere not that deep inside him, he had an urge to turn off the classical music, turn off the loan road to find some kind of opening or something next to a cliff where the view would be breathtaking, turn on some Marvin Gaye, and strip the woman beside him naked, and hold her to his body. Her touch had done that much to him, and she was just sitting their, oblivious to his thoughts that threatened to become reality.

_I don't think I can hold it in much longer. I need to get out of this car. NOW!_

**At the Restaurant**

So, as it turned out, Neji really wasn't taking her to the middle of nowhere, as he told her earlier on. In fact, though the place was far from civilization, the restaurant was far from being lame enough to be placed in the middle of nowhere. Just the size of it alone was enough to make it be considered a mall/city. The hot springs and fancy hotel beside it only added to that fact. Overall, the place was perfect. I was so gorgeous that it was too good to be placed in the city.

As they drove up, Tenten eyed the massive place with awe. She couldn't help the tourist attitude she was showing as she looked out the window. Her eyes were wide with wonder the closer they got. From the marble lion statues at the base of the driveway, to the glass, gold trimmed, 10 foot doors at the front of the place, she felt her dreams of eating at a fancy restaurant come to life. She hadn't even looked at Neji ever since they turned into the large opening. She couldn't. She was too focused on the magnificent sight before her to realize the other magnificent sight that shes seen plenty of times before, sitting beside her, smiling at her reaction.

"Do you still think that you're going to be raped then killed?" he asked, making her look away from a moment, her eyes getting bigger when she focused on him as if she hadn't realized that he was still there.

"Are you kidding me?" she scoffed as she sat back down just when they pulled up to the very front. "After seeing a place like this it would be impossible for you to rape me, kill me, maybe, because I will be too entranced from this place to realize that you were doing so, but rape, no."

"May I ask why?" Neji asked as he stepped out, half jogging to the other side to open her door before the Valet could get to her.

Tenten looked up, smiling at him before reaching out her hand and allowing him to help her out of the car. She looked him in the eye, watching as he smiled slowly, entrancing her little by little. "Because I would have wanted it." She cooed. At the sudden stiffening of his body, she leaned in until her lips barely grazed his ear and smiled, flicking out her tongue a little to tap the tip of his ear –a sensitive spot she learned – then whispered. "I wold have really wanted it...bad."

She heard him breath in then backed away, pleased with what she was able to accomplish in such short notice, then started for the door, smiling as if she belonged there when a young gentleman she hadn't known but noticed from TV helped her up the stairs. She turned then and watched Neji as he talked with the Valet, possible telling him not to let any damage come to his "baby girl" and started laughing a little, realizing then that the guy that helped her up was still there.

"Hello." She smiled.

"Hey." The man smiled back, eying her greedily before abruptly looking away. "So you're on a date with THE Neji Hyuuga, huh?"

She nodded proudly. Something about hearing someone else saying that she was out on a date with THE Neji Hyuuga made her feel giddy. "Yup. Our first date, too."

"Hm." the man responded before stepping back and looking at her again, eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. Tenten watched him with annoyance until she spotted the sunglasses and felt herself grow weary of him. She tried to ignoring him, but that was harder said then done. The man kept looking at her, moaning to himself in acceptance of her body, and walking about her as if he was judging a piece of pie.

She was about to say something to him, she even turned, but she stopped when she felt a hand reach around her waist and pull her in, followed by a low, growling voice. "Can I help you?" Neji asked, unknowingly turning her own with his since of authority. "You look like you're ready to pounce."

She blushed as the man held his hands out in defeat before backing away, hiding behind car that came up, lights flashing, bright and irritably. Normally, Tenten wold be staring daggers at a man that dared to insult her in such a way as "eye-humping" her, but not this time. That man was clear from her mind. She was too focused, instead, on the man behind her who was currently glaring out at the darkness where the man had disappeared into. Her heart raced wildly at the sight of him angry and protective over her, and she couldn't help but blush at the sight.

"Lets just go on, Neji." She cooed, reaching to make him look her way. "Forget about him."

"Hn." He answered as he allowed her to pull him toward the doors. It wasn't until they got inside when he refocused on her, maybe because he wanted to see her reaction to the interior of the building.

However, he couldn't get the laugh he had hopped he would get out of it. Instead, he found himself dazed, eyes slightly wider and mouth tightly shut in attempts to keep him self quiet. She was smiling, brightly at that, and it was beyond beautiful to him. Her eyes had a kind of glow that made her look older and wiser, her face, flushed as it was, made her look enticing, and her whole demeanor to the sight made her look mature and womanly.

"Mr. Hyuuga." A mans voice came, snapping Neji out of it long enough to nod towards him.

"I see you were expected." Tenten smiled after she was done star gazing.

"That's because I made special reservations." he turned and smiled genuinely at her. "For this day. For you."

Tenten smiled then looked on and squeezed his hand gratefully, only to loosen her grip once they stepped out of the elevator she hadn't realized they entered, onto the top floor where a lone table sat. Around it, grass bloomed, stopping at the base where a small moat of some sort circled around the table. A stone path led down the room towards a small, wide bridge that was just big enough for two people to walk on. In the background, a large open window showed the beautiful view of the forest and the city just beyond it. **1**

"This is...this is..."

"Amazing." Neji finished, stepping up behind her. He put his chin on her shoulder and wrapped his long arms around her waist then began rocking back and forth, dancing to nothing really, and sighed once she placed her hands on his and rocked with him. "It really is beautiful." he cooed. "But it could never compare to you."

"That's cliché." She giggled.

"I tried to make it sound better yet mean the same thing, but I was too taken aback by your smile, your voice..." he paused, burying his face into her neck, where he nipped her. "and your smell...to think straight."

"That's better." she whispered as she leaned into his touch, closing her eyes. "This really is something, Neji."

"I know." he said. "That's why I spent so much on getting this reservation."

"Did it cost a lot?"

"Lets just say that we're not going to be here long. Our diner is going to be the salad and **Ika Sansai they serve for appetizers."**

**"Really?!"**

**"No." Neji scoffed as he led her to the table where wine was already set and waiting. "Did you forget who I am already."**

**"So I can get anything?"**

**"Anything."**

**"But what if I don't like it?"**

**"Take it back."**

**"Will they charge for it?"**

**"Possibly."**

**Tenten moaned moving uncomfortably in** her chair before she sipped at the wine, shivered in satisfaction, then looked back at him. "What do you recommend?"

"Tenten, it's fine. Explore a little."

"I rather not. I don't wanna waste anything."

"I guarantee you, Tenten" Neji smiled. "You wont want to waste anything."

**A Couple of Hours Later**

She couldn't keep her eyes off of him after she got him to talk more. The wine was working on his nerves, she noticed, and hers as well.

The food was wonderful. If she had to describe it the way Temari would, then she would call it an orgasm on a plate, but that was nothing compare to the walking, talking one that sat in front of her.

**Some more Hours later**

She couldn't keep her hands off of him. Every time he reached for his food, she reached for his hand. She found lame excuses to touch him, apologized without want whenever her foot "accidentally" bumped into his, and laughed out of order whenever he spoke of something somewhat funny.

Of course he noticed this. He just didn't do anything about it but smile and try to ignore it, to see how far she would go.

**Midnight**

They were the last to leave, but that hadn't bothered anyone there, they were getting paid by the hour, and they only saw the two's long stay as overtime. It had gotten to the point to when they had some of the more musically talented employees to come and serenade them in attempts to get them to stay longer, not knowing that their attempts were only getting Tenten riled up. Every once in a while, she would reach out and touch his hand, without looking at him, and caress it with her thumb, or stretch her legs out until they were entangled with his. Anyone could tell that she wanted to leave, not because of the service, at was great, but because of her...urges.

On the way back, when they were in the car, he could feel her hand moving up his thigh slowly, deliberately stopping when she got close to his piece. She wasn't facing him again, but that was what made it more exciting. That was what made him drive a little faster, what made a 30 minute drive out of the forest into a 10 minute drive that hit the bright lights fast.

He heard her moan a little, happy that they were finally back in the city, but disappointed that they were still a ways away from his place. She moved her hand further up his thigh, allowing her finger tips to graze is throbbing manhood, making him groan a little as well.

He thoroughly sped up.

**At Neji's House**

She went straight to the restroom. A smile was on her face as she snaked out of her clothes, saying that she was going to take a bath in his heavenly tub, leaving a rather hard Neji standing dumbly in the living room with his hand over his privets.

He sighed then walked into his room, hearing the water run farther in, and he couldn't help but smile at that. He looked towards the bathroom, longing dying his beautiful features, then sighed and decided against his impure thoughts and headed for the bed, but he stopped once he stepped, bare footed, on her underwear that were not to far from the bedroom door.

_Silk, huh?_

He smiled then walked on, ignoring her scattered clothes to the best of his abilities, wanting to get a drink of something, anything to get his mind off of her. It was that hard.

"Neji?" Came Tenten's small voice.

He stopped and smiled more to himself then turned and headed to the bathroom, stopping right outside the door. "Yes?" He asked as sweetly as he could.

"Can you come here, please?"

He blanched and swallowed before allowing a light blush to flow onto his pale face. His hand, though he hadn't noticed until then, was already gripping the doorknob firmly. He was ready to go in; he wanted to go in, but the gentleman in him decided to come out and kept him glued to the spot. Inside, he heard her move impatiently.

"Neji?"

"Is there something you need?"

"You." She cooed sweetly, sounding almost as if the answer she gave was obvious. "Come in." **2**

He laughed a little before he opened the door and stepped in, flinching a little to the cold, unwelcoming floor before he moved on, keeping his eyes forward.

Sure enough, she was watching him, smiling a little in a manor that reminded him of...well, himself. Her whole attitude spoke of power, pride and strength; looked like she was ready to take over if needed, and he liked that.

"Yes?" he asked, stopping far enough to not be able to see her breasts, which he was sure weren't submerged in water, but pressing up against the walls in a tempting manner.

"Come here."

"In there?" he asked skeptically, pointing to make sure that she knew what he was talking about.

Tenten smiled and bit her lip then nodded as her eyes traveled down his body, stopping for a while at his hardened manhood. She fidgeted a little before she pushed herself off the wall and sunk under till only her head was laying on the marble lining of the tub. She looked back up at him then and waved her hand, signaling him to come in. He smiled but moved to unbutton his shirt nonetheless with his eyes still focused on her as she fidgeted more with anticipation. By the time he got his pants unzipped and down, Tenten was against the other side of the tub, watching him with hungry eyes.

"Is this what you wanted?" He asked as he stood before her, stark naked and smiling. "Me naked."

She shook her head playfully. "I wanted you naked AND in here with me."

Neji laughed a little as he stepped in and settled in across from her, arms out and relaxed. He watched her then, smiling the way she did when she stood up a little t get more comfortable and showed, on purpose, her breasts. He licked his lips, getting a playful laugh from her before she waded across to him and climbed onto his lap.

"What are you doing?" He asked when she rubbed against him, making the words come out in a moan of pleasure.

"Turning you on." she answered before she lowered her lips to his neck and started sucking, gladly going harder when she heard him moan in satisfaction before he reached up to hold her closer to him.

"Why?" he asked, making her look back at him seductively.

Se didn't answer this time, but lifted herself up a little, confusing him until she, slowly, laid back on "him", making him shiver in pleasure. He fixed his mouth to speak again, but couldn't get the words out and settled, instead, for moaning and letting her take over. When she kissed his neck again, however, he felt the sudden urge to take control again, and it took everything in his right mind to refrain from turning her over.

"Shit." he cursed as she leaned in on him, rocking her hips slowly, making him build up little by little. She smiled then threw her hair back and smiled her best smile then, achingly, slid off of him and out the tub, leaving him confused and overwhelmed.

"Do you plan to stay in there forever, Neji?" came Tenten's seductive voice, making him turn slowly. "Or are you going to get out and take what's yours?" she trailed her hands down her body in a way freaky women did – at least that's what she thought they did – then smiled and twisted out the bathroom smiling once she heard him jumping out of the water before his hands snaked their way around her waist and lifted her up, making her laugh.

"What took you so long?" she asked as he ran out with her in his hands.

"Shut up." he smiled before tossing her on the bed.

She laughed again, reaching up for him with her hand as if she was inviting him in, though she knew that he didn't need one, at least not anymore, because he was already climbing on her, planting kisses everywhere in an uncontrollable pace, stopping only to feel between her thighs, just so that he could make her moan loud the way she made him do earlier.

He smiled then, looking up at her as she looked down at him, mouth open and hands already gripping the sheets. "I'll teach you to think twice before you even think of taking control of me."

"Doubt it." Tenten played as she propped herself on her elbows only to fall once again when she felt his tongue flick out at her. She couldn't help the moan that escaped from her lips, sounding pained in a way. She also couldn't help the buck that followed once he went deeper.

"Welcome to my domain, Tenten." Neji laughed as he climbed on top of her withering figure.

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><p><strong>Damn...This was kind of awkward to right. Every time someone came by I looked at them like, "don't look at what I'm writing"<strong>

**Anyways, I apologize for the mistakes that may be there, once again.**


	28. Finally

**Disclaimer: I don't own this Manga**

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><p><strong>AN: Here we go again**

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><p>Chapter 28: Finally<p>

It was official, their relationship. Anyone could see that. Had they just walked by the bedroom door, and heard the sounds of their love ringing, roaring through the closed door, they could easily tell that there was no separating them. So, as the sun rose lazily above and into the horizon, signaling the middle of the day, they still lay, resting, not sleeping, against one another, smiling brightly as if nothing could stop them from feeling their moment of pure bliss. Her fingers, exquisite and small, traced the dips and curves of his chiseled chest lightly, sending shivers down his spine whenever his sensitive spot was brazed. His fingers, much bigger than hers, traced steady circles in the small of her back, keeping him occupied and calm as long as she didn't erupt from some secret soft spot. Together, they sighed and snuggled closer to one another at the booming sound of the air conditioner turning on, and stayed there comfortably in each others arms. After some time, the girl,she looked up and smiled at him and he looked down and did the same, then they went back to doing nothing and stayed that way some more, unmoved and unmotivated by their surroundings and possible distractions, but that was then, before her stomach growled louder than needed, embarrassing her at the wrong time. All Neji did was laugh, he couldn't think to do anything more, then got up and started to put on some clothes.

"How does a Western style breakfast sound to you?" He asked as he headed for the door.

"Good." Tenten moaned as she rolled over into a siting position. "I haven't had one in so long."

"And after you've had my cooking," Neji cooed, halfway out the door. "You wont want anything else for sometime."

"Sure." Tenten laughed, crawling out of bed herself. I doubt that. You don't seem like the kind of guy that has the time to learn to cook considering you're hardly at home. You're almost always out, ne?"

"So."

"So you might not be as good a cook as you think you are."

Neji stopped, smiled, then turned and headed back to the room just in time to see her buttoning up one of his shirts. He was about to speak, but her attire caught him off guard. She looked small in his shirt, smaller than usual, possibly because he was so much larger then she was, but either way, she was adorable. He stood there a little longer, looking at her with careful eyes that seemed to want to take in her as a whole so as to never forget this sight. The smoothness of her skin, the length of the shirt on her, stopping just above the mid-thigh section, the tempting way she swayed over towards him, smiling till she was right under his nose. She stopped, snuggling closer to his chest as he stiffened from her sudden show of affection, then wrapped her arms around his waist. After some time, he did the same then looked down curiously.

"I love you." she cooed, straight faced and serious.

Almost instantly after she had said that Neji's mile faded and his eyes grew wide. Inside, he felt his stomach churn and his heart do flips, and he could tell by Tenten's slowly growing smile, that whatever emotions he was feeling, he was, surprisingly, showing. Quickly, he hid, burying is face in her hair so as to calm himself down then sighed. "I love you too."

Tenten laughed and squeezed him tighter and they stayed like that for a little while longer. A couple of minutes later, Neji pushed her away and smiled as he led her into the kitchen area the way an adult does to a child; dragging her by her wrist then sitting her down in a chair facing him.

"Now then," he began, wiggling his eyebrows in a rather uncharacteristic manor. "I do believe the lady dost doubt her good lord too much."

"How so, my lord?" Tenten laughed, leaning in on the counter with mock interest.

"Thine cooking is not one to be tested, love. If I must say it, then I shall, but my cooking is none to be mocked ."

"Aye?"

"Tis true, Madam Tenten."

"And if I be unsatisfied?"

"Then I shall hide my face in shame for the rest of my young life, but I assure you Madam, that you will be pleasantly surprised."

Tenten laughed just as he had done, then looked over Neji as he slowly made some kind of white thick batter in a bowel that smelled roughly of wet flour. She looked over and saw, sitting on the counter next to him was bacon but in some kind of different package. It looked like it had English on it so she just assumed that it was rather expensive.

"You're not trying to kill me secretly are you?" she asked suddenly, looking at him skeptically.

Neji laughed. "So we're doing that 'I'm trying to kill you like they do in horror films' thing again, are we?"

"No." Tenten smiled sweetly. "I'm doing the 'You're trying to kill me like they did in Hansel and Gretel' type of thing."

He laughed again, louder this time, but continued nonetheless. "You're crazy." He cooed, leaning in. "But I like that about you."

Tenten smiled then sat back, triumphantly, in her chair and swiveled around in an attempt to stay occupied as she waited.

**At the Shop**

It happened again. It was an important day, all of the students arrived on time, it was cold outside, Yuuya drove to school, and Neji wasn't there yet, so the door was locked, and none of the students brought their key. So, once again, it seemed that Yuuya was going to be stuck outside with everyone else.

He sighed as he walked up to Kanae, resting his head against hers before throwing all of his body weight on her, laughing a little at the grunt she gave to the added pounds. Even though it was unnatural of him and highly out of character, Yuuya continued to play with the girl, leaning more onto her with every move. He was acting like a rag doll in a since, and, honestly, he was enjoying himself. After Kanae's fifth and final grunt, she settled for leaning against the wall, weakened by Yuuya's unusually playful mood, and sighed as he locked the wind from touching her.

Standing there, she felt comfortable yet embarrassed at the same time. That we just what Yuuya did to her. He confused her with feelings she wasn't used to felling at once, but that didn't mean that she didn't like it. She looked up, putting o her best put face, but Yuuya wasn't looking at her, in fact, she couldn't even see his eyes. In her time of contemplation he had buried his face into the crook of her neck and kept it there, shielding his fragile face from the fierce winds that whipped by them.

Frozen there, Kanae looked away from him only to see the rest of the students staring at the two with curious faces – and one knowing smile. She blushed at them then looked away n tried, though weakly, to push Yuuya off, but he just moaned at her lame attempt and snuggled closer, wrapping his hands about her waist to hold her there. Kanae squeaked at his touch, making him laugh a little before he softened his grip, unknowingly saddening her at his slow loss of interest of keeping her closer.

"You want to come over to my house?" he suddenly asked, making Kanae wide eyed.

After some silence, Yuuya pushed himself up and stared at her before he smiled and gripped her hand, feeling extra playful today for some unknown reason. "Come on." Neji isn't going to come today anyways, and we, of all people, should know have known that enough to not come today without a key, and besides, my parents have wanted to meet the both of you for some time."

"You're parents?" Kanae asked as Meme stepped up, realizing that the first question was addressed to the both of them and not just Kanae. "You want us to go t your parents house?"

"You still live with your parents?" Meme asked.

Yuuya scoffed at the small girl then started walking to his car. "As if. I'm just going over there today to stop my moms constant begging, and I would rather bring extra people to keep their attention off of me." he stopped, hitting the button when he got to the drivers seat, then looked back at the both of them and smiled. "So, are you guys in or not?"

"Shot gun!" Kanae yelled as she skipped the front seat while Meme followed bind swiftly eager to get inside the car that was just on not too long ago.

**Back at Neji's House**

When he said that his cooking was good, she should have known that that statement was an understatement. The moment the smell of the western breakfast touched her nose, she shivered with delight and her stomach growled louder than the sound of the grease popping in the frying pan. Was it embarrassing? Of course it was, but that didn't stop her from staring at the plate in front of her like a lioness would do her prey for the morning. Now, she wouldn't say that, once he was done serving her all of the works – the orange juice, bacon, pancakes, eggs and fruit cup – then doing the same for himself, that she devoured the plate in an instant. That wouldn't be lady like. But, then again, she never did remember saying that she was pristine and perfect and "womanlike" to anyone, especially Neji. So, with that said, she stuffed the whole meal in her mouth after the first bite touched her tongue. Needless to say, the whole meal was finished in no time, and she was sipping tenderly at her orange juice as if she hadn't juts swallowed a full sized Western style breakfast in record time.

"I take it that you enjoyed your meal, Madam Tenten."

"Why Lord Neji" she cooed after finishing her juice and handing the cup to him as he collected the dirty dishes. "I must apologize. I should have never doubted my Lords talents."

Neji laughed as he wiped his hands and headed around the counter to her smiling figure. Then, with a smile of is own, he swopped her up in his arms and carried her to the living room, tossing the both of them on the couch as he fell down, kissing her tenderly in all the visible places he could reach in the position they were in.

"I'm surprised." Tenten cooed in between kisses. "No one came to mess with you yet."

"I told them not to."

"And they listened?" Tenten sat up.

"Of curse not. If its my friends your talking about, then I told them that I would be at Hinata's."

"But you're not there."

"And..." he stopped kissing her, looking up at her with stern eyes. "I told them that if I wasnt there whe they got there, that I would be there soon. Calm down Tenten."

"Kind of hard to do when they could just barge in here at anytime"

"Okay, so that one time was because Hinata left the door unlocked."

"But how did he get in?" Tenten huffed as she sat all the way up, pushing Neji off of her and onto the floor, looking up at her as if she just killed his puppy. "She has a key, doesn't she?"

"She wouldn't stop begging me for one. You know she panics about everything. When it comes to the 'if's' Hinata's a big worrywart."

"Wow you're surprisingly slack on Hinata." Tenten laughed as she leaned over, revealing her bust a little to get him stirred.

"Oh bite me." He growled as he pounced at her, pinning her to the couch again, but only for a little while, before he hissed in pain and jumped back far enough to keep her underneath him.

"What?" Tenten asked with a smug smile as she watched him rub gently at his neck.

"Did you bite me?"

"You did say 'bite me', ne?"

Neji laughed as he leaned back, pulling her on top of him, then smiled when she got the message and leaned in closer, covering the both of them with her loose hair. "I like it." He cooed as he reached up and pulled her onto him so that he could whisper in her ear. "Do it again."

"Yes, daddy." She cooed, smiling when she heard him moan in pleasure. She leaned up then, smiling down at him as her fingers trailed farther down his body.

With the look he was giving her, she couldn't help but blush and stop long enough to regain her composure. Last night, she had him hooked, she practically had him eating out of her hand until she pushed him to far and let him regain control before she could fully take his body, but today, she refused to let that happen again. Every time she was with Neji in any intimate scene, she found herself under him, screaming his name in pleasure and pain, shaking and climaxing first in multiple time intervals. Today, however, she was going to make sure that it was going to be the other way around. She knew that it wasn't the usual procedure when making love; the woman being on top, and she knew that the possibility of Neji actually letting her go all the way while on top was highly unlikely, but she was determined. If she couldn't get him one whole course, then she would settle for about half that time, but even that likeliness was low. Neji took his masculinity that seriously.

Slowly, she grinned against him, making him smile as if he was drunk on her touch. Naturally, she smiled back, loving the feel of his hardening figure underneath her, no matter how dirty the feeling should have felt, because, every once in a while, every woman fells a little slutty at some point in their lives and, right now as well last night, with Neji, she felt exactly that.

Tenten leaned in and kissed him passionately, leading the fight for dominance for once with their tongues, making him moan instead of the other way around. She laughed, flipping her hair back and out of the way as she lowered herself onto his neck, digging her nails into his shoulder for support as she sucked roughly on his neck. Almost instantly after her mouth touched his skin, he was bucking in anticipation, eager for something more to happen. By now, he was already hard, that was just how his body reacted to her touch. It wanted her just as bad as he did. Sure that made no since but to him, it was all the since needed.

"Damn." He groaned as his head rolled back, giving her more access.

She looked up at him then siled against his skin and bit down a little again, making him buck yet again. She found it funny at first until he was the one gripping her shoulders and slowly lifting up, picking up speed the closer he got to sitting up. Tenten groaned to this and attempted to slip away, but her motives had Neji falling back down, wide eyed and worried.

"What?" he asked, breathing heavily.

"You need to learn to be submissive a little, Neji." she huffed crossing her arms in a childish manner.

"Submissive?" he questioned. "That word is not in my dictionary."

Tenten huffed again and climbed off of him faster than he would have liked, making him reach out to her with hast, pulling her carefully back to him. He smiled up at her as he scooted back farther on the couch, propping his head up on the arm rest, then pulled her back on top. "What I meant to say" he began, as he unbuttoned her shirt, or rather his shirt, and pulled back the white fabric to reveal her smooth skin and full breasts. He lifted one finger and trailed it down her body from the base of her neck to her navel, where he fingered slowly, getting a reaction he wasn't expecting from her. After that it took all of what was left of his self control to not pounce her again. "Teach me." he finally cooed.

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><p><strong>Whoop! Whoop! I finally Said the dang title. You know what that means? Good cause I don't!Leave REVIEWS! Oh and I have a oneshot out named "Mine for the Week" you should check it out.<strong>


	29. Finding the Pieces

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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><p><strong>AN: I'm sorry for the late Update. I ended on something that had me confused on what to do next. BTW, I'm still taking in options for One shots. Just Pm me and I'll get to you about it. I've got two stories from two different people already on my board.**

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><p>Chapter 29: Finding the Pieces<p>

No one knew what to say that whole day. All they could do was stare with evident fear at the smiling Hyuga that walked about the shop, checking on people's work while ignoring everyone that stared at him worriedly. Granted, had he been acting as himself , Neji would have not taken any of this impoliteness from anyone. He would have snapped long ago and fixed everyone with that infamous glare he held, and, once again, all eyes would divert away from him, but today was different. Today Neji was exceptionally happy and for reasons unknown to most students but known to the main three that he praised so much. So, he didn't need to say anything to anyone, he knew They would do so the moment he went back inside his office.

"What the hell was that?" someone asked from the back of the room, sparking an uproar of complaints and arguments.

In the front, however, Yuuya, Meme and Kanae just sat there, doing their work silently, ignoring the reactions of the other students. "Why are you idiots freaking out." Yuuya asked calmly.

"Yeah," Kanae began. "He's just happy."

Meme, who realized that everyone was listening to them, smiled softly at everyone. "He must have had a good date yesterday."

"A date?" Someone questioned. "Neji has dates? I thought he only had one night stands, not dates."

"Was that why he wasn't here yesterday?"

The class went into another uproar, and the three calm ones sighed again, feeling rather annoyed with the clueless members of their class. But then again, they couldn't blame them for their reactions. Neji was the type that clearly played favorites,an he made it evident who he liked the best, and, in this case, it would be the top three chair placements; Yuuya, Meme, and Kanae. His other favorite was this quiet student somewhere in the back, and his only reason for liking him was because he was quiet and did what he was told, unlike most everyone else in the class. Looking at him now, Kanae and the others realized why he was liked as well. While everyone else worked on screaming at each other about Neji's happiness, he was steadily working hard, smiling with contempt to himself.

"Why can't everyone be like him?" Kanae questioned, just as the class grew quiet, but not to her words, but to the new guests that entered shortly after Lee walked in, stopping the group just at the base of the stairs while he went to go get Neji from his office.

"Tenten?" Yuuya questioned, getting the girl in the front to turn around and face him with a smile. "What are you guys doing here?"

"To see Neji." Tenten answered, walking around the wall that separated the stairs and chairs. "Yesterday, Neji told me about this competition thing he wanted to do for you guys as a final grade, and..."

"A competition?" Kanae questioned. "You mean like... like a fashion show?"

"I guess." Tenten answered. "That might be the issue since he told me to bring my friends."

"Your friends?" Meme asked as her interest peeked and she walked over towards the group. "You mean like, Yamanaka-san?"

"I told you guys, Ino is just fine." Ino popped in, stepping above the stairs, past the already visible Hinata , the only one the class was truly used to. The moment she came up, the class erupted again. Cheering and whistling from the few men that were there could be heard from every corner of the room.

"How immature." Kanae complained.

"Indeed." came a deep voice that had everyone shutting up. "I thought I taught you all better than that."

"Neji." Several people called, Tenten's voice being the loudest.

She pranced over to him, smiling l the while before planting a kiss on his cheek then standing beside him as if that were the only spot she ever belonged. Hinata came up next before she stopped as well and observed the class with the other girls, Sakura, Temari, and Ino, trailing behind. "You're short some students." Hinata inquired.

"Hn." Neji grunted as he rested his chin on Tenten's head. "Even I have skippers, Hinata. Anyways, about that fashion show, that was originally supposed to be a surprise" he looked at Tenten who visibly shrunk under his glare. "It's true, I am having one, but since I figured none of you, besides maybe Yuuya and Kanae, could afford a model I asked Tenten and her friends to partake in the competition as the models along with some of my friends for those of you who are designing clothes for males."

"Do we get to pick our models?" someone in the back asked.

"No." Neji sighed as he ran a hand through his hair and stepped around Tenten. "I will be deciding who gets who for a model since I know the lot of you might fight over Yamanaka because of her title. The only ones that get to decide who they want for their models are the ones who designed male based clothing. Those of you who did so, which means I'm talking to Akio, Ichirou, Ryuu, and Ayaka, will be choosing out of Uchiha Sauske, Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. So when they get here, you will report to my office and tell me who chose who on a first come first serve bases. Understood."

"Hai." the four students replied before going back to work.

"As for the rest of you," Neji huffed, turning to face the group of could-be models and students. "I have to pick who goes with who still so...get to work. Tenten, I need you and your friends to follow me to my office while I sort this out."

**Some minutes later**

Yuuya was starting to think that Neji didn't trust him at all with Tenten. He could understand why though, after all, he and Tenten have dated before. They've even kissed, and even after they broke up, their still close friends. So it made since that Neji had no trust in him with his girlfriend. It made since that he always keeps a keen eye on him whenever Tenten's near him, and it sure as hell made since that he always stood next them whenever no one in the store needed his assistance, but what wasn't understandable was why he didn't give Tenten to him as his model. Neji knew as well as anyone else, that Tenten was his inspiration for a lot of his pieces. Ever since she complemented his dress then accepted his offer to a date, he's been drawing clothes with her in mind. Granted, he couldn't deny that he was the only one that did so. Neji was known to pick someone for his model when designing clothes. Before Tenten cam along, it was the twins, of that he was sure since Neji would always design clothes that looked alike in pattern but not style. After that he had a time where he was fixated on designing for Hinata and Hanabi, his cousins, and for a short, and he does mean short, amount of time, Neji designed for his uncle, hence the number of suites he randomly has out in his stores. However, the moment Tenten stepped into his life, he seemed to be bonded to her figure and it was obvious. Tenten 's bust, much like Hinata's and Temari's was noticeably bigger than most females, but, unlike Temari and Hinata, Tenten had a tiny waist. The figure was so different, so likable and great do design for that he kept designing specifically for her, uncaring for the fact that his designs were good for tons of women as well and his lines constantly boosted the more he designed for her. Yuuya, like Neji, was sure that his styling points increased greatly as well whenever he designed with her in mind, and that was why he wasn't all too happy about his situation.

Neji had given him some random girl he had never met before, a friend of he twins who was actually a model, hardly known but a model nonetheless, and her figure was no where near Tenten's. She was flat damn near everywhere, but that was what most models looked like, the only thing she had for herself was her wider hips that gave her a possibility to wear a lot of the clothes he made a little better than Tenten would have, like the ones that were meant to be fitted around the waist. On Tenten it would have been a little lose because of the manikins he had but on her, they would be tight and sexy, just as he intended, so that was good. However, what he didn't appreciate all to well was that he gave Tenten to Kanae and she made sure to poke fun at him for it too.

Yuuya sighed then glared at Neji from across the room. By then, everyone had been assigned. Meme had Hinata, some other kid had Uchiha and the one next to him, luckily, got Ino. Minori and Akari both weren't in the drawing. They, as Neji's models, would be accompanying him in the crowd while the judges...well, judged. Some other people got random people the twins knew, one guy got Uzumaki and was struggling with his inability to stand still whenever a needle came anywhere near him. Ayaka had been placed with Kiba and he would constantly try and seduce her – and it was working – and Akio, the quiet guy that never had a bad day come to him, from the back of the class, had Aburame, another quiet guy that Yuuya felt had some kind of secret weapon upon him, one that he couldn't pinpoint.

"Get to work, Yuuya." Neji ordered as he passed by. Heading directly to Tenten and Kanae's positions, making him glare at the c of his head before he actually did as he was told.

"So how are things looking?" Neji asked, placing a delicate hand on Tenten' waist before he pulled her in for a quick kiss on the cheek, making her giggle like a high school girl. Kanae gagged at them but smiled back up at Neji nonetheless before answering. "Just fine, thank you."

"That means leave." Tenten translated, making Kanae laugh.

Neji seemed like he was about to say something but Kanae, being a fast talker, cut him off. "Don't you think it's unfair for you to give me Tenten, or anyone her for that matter? You wouldn't vote against her no matter what she has on."

"That's why I am not judging." he started as he walked around them. "I thought ahead and got some fashion judges from fashion competitions. They will be the judges for this competition so everyone's grades will be based off of their notes and scores."

"That's no where near fair." someone complained from the back of the class. "Judges from competitions judge on a harsh scale. There's no way any of us beginners will get good enough marks."

"See that's where you're wrong, kid who always complains" Neji joked, swinging around to face the owner of the voice. "The judges have already been informed of your standings as beginners in the fashion industry and that you are still in school."

"So it will have the feel of a real fashion show, "Meme started. "but be nothing compared to an actual one since it's filled with amateurs from the models to the students."

"Seems like it." Hinata cooed as she stood, looking at her watch. "Neji I have to go. My breaks almost over."

"Same here." Everyone else but the beginner models chipped in.

"Alright, just let them get your measurements first if they hadn't already did so, then you can leave." Neji sighed as he ran a steady hand through his locks of chocolate colored hair. Tenten, being the only one who saw this, stepped away from Kanae the moment she got all of he measurements out of the way and placed a concerned hand over Neji's cheek.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing really." Neji cooed, cupping her face in his giant hands to squeeze her cheeks in. "I just have a lot of things to do and a can't shake the feeling that something I don't want happening will happen anyways and cause even more problems."

"So you're stressing about the future?" Tenten asked as she led him out of the shop, holding his hand.

"Sounds kind of stupid doesn't it?"

"Especially since you're already rich and famous as is."

"Hey you never know. Something might happen with the banks. I could get an identity thief."

"No you couldn't. You're too well known."

"Whatever." Neji laughed as he leaned in and kissed her, pulling her away from a speeding wight van that came a little too close to the sidewalk. "I'll see you later then." He started as he watched the van turn harshly around a corner.

"Yeah."

"Then bye my love." he cooed again while leaning in for another kiss

Tenten laughed then stood on her tiptoes and kissed him back gently at first before he grabbed at her waist and pulled her in closer to make the kiss deeper, stronger even. It was almost desperate, their kiss. It was the kind of kiss that seemed to be apologizing for something before hand, kind of like the one Tenten shared with..with Yuuya.

Blinking, she pushed herself away from him slightly then stared him in the eyes, not liking the feeling she got from him when he looked away. She had already felt something similar to this, something just as harsh as this even, and only in the span of about a year. It was an ugly feeling, one that never really went away, and whenever signs of it needing to come back out, unfortunately, came back, it never hesitated to show itself, and she doesn't like that. She didn't like it then when Yuuya dumped her, so she was more than sure that she wouldn't like it if something between her and Neji happened as well.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." He sighed, running his hand through his hair yet again. "I'm just a worry wart."

"Okay then ." Tenten said. "Bye."

"Get back safely." Neji cooed just as she climbed into the drivers seat of her beat up car. "Please...just get back safely, okay."

"Okay." Tenten smiled in attempts to reassure him. "I will. I'll even call you hen I get inside the building, ne?"

Neji nodded then stood straight and started back for the store. He stopped once more and looked back out at Tenten as she pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the road, then sighed and ran an uneasy hand through his hair.

Something wasn't right.

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><p><strong>I am SOOOOOO SORRRRRRRYYYYYYY for the late update.<strong>


	30. Seemingly Unknown

**Disclaimer: I don't own this Anime/Manga**

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry again...a lot has been happening lately so...yeah.**

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><p>Chapter 30: Seemingly Unknown<p>

Tenten sighed as she flopped down in her less than comfortable chair then placed her "lunch" down on a napkin before pulling her cell out and dialing the first number on her call log. She laughed a little as she sat there shaking her head at Neji's sudden burst of anxiety, seeing as he even called her before she could get back to work and left a voice mail that she didn't feel like checking.

"Hey." she giggled as she laid back in her chair after turning on her computer. "Yeah, I made it back safely...What's going on? What are you worrying about?...No...Yes I am sure. Okay...Bye."

She sighed as she hung up the phone and fell back against the chair. And as she peacefully signed into her computer, and peacefully started working, she realized exactly how quiet things were in the office. "Ikuya, Essence?" she questioned, standing from her spot to look over the wall, only to find both stations empty but not unused.

"They must be on break still?"

She sat back down, looking at the clock on the wall with a questioning look. Judging by the time on the wall, both Ikuya and Essence should have been back from their breaks. The both of them had theirs after hers sure, but, unlike her, they never used all of their break time. They always had too much gossip to spread to even think about taking a break longer than hers, and needed to make sure that they got back before she did to talk about whatever new thing they had just heard.

"I'm not early." She said to herself. "In fact I'm late. Wait...where's Baby Face. I swore he would get on me for this. He always does." She got up, looking around the practically empty office before frowning ad sitting back down warily.

She was about to get back up and search for everyone when her phone went off, making her jump. She struggled in trying to get at it, dropping it once and cursing at the sound of the glass hitting the floor. "Hello." she growled, angry more at herself for the cracks that were now on her phone, blocking the screen saver of Neji when he was sleeping, something she managed to get somehow.

"Oh my gosh Tenten, I am so sorry." Temari cried into the receiver. She sounded rather hurt and it seemed like she as breathing harshly as well.

"Temari, hun, what's wrong? I'm not mad at you or anything, I just cracked my screen when I was trying to answer my phone it's not your fault."

"No! That's not what I was talking about." Temari breathed in. "Ugh! Shit, move out of my way! Drive!"

"Are you driving?" Tenten asked.

"Yes, but-"

"Temari calm down. You know how you get when you're emotional on the road. What happened?"

"You haven't seen?"

"Seen what?" Tenten asked. By now, she was grabbing her things and heading towards the elevator. "Do you need me to come get you or anything. What is going on. You're freaking me out."

"I am so sorry." she wined again.

"What?" Tenten yelled, stopping only when she heard Ikuya's voice coming from the break room, along with plenty others voices as well. "Temari what is happening."

"Tenten I swear that if I knew this idiot would be doing this, I would have stopped him a long time ago."

"Who?" Tenten questioned.

"My brother."

"Gaara?"

"No!"

"Then who T-" She stopped, getting to the break room, and stared at the man on the TV who was smiling and laughing along side the host of some famous Talk show host. On the bottom of the screen I read: A Look into the Unknown Sabaku Sibling. On the screen was none other than Kankuro.

"Tenten," Temari began. "He's been talking about you the whole time. Everyone knows that you're his reason on his sudden burst of popularity and that you used to date and...and that you-"

"That I know you and the rest of the girls."

"I'm so sorry." Temari growled now. It sounded like she was out of the car, possibly hunting down her brother. "Oi! That's my brother in there. Let me through!" And with that. The call ended and Tenten, once again, dropped her phone, not caring that device was probably broken beyond belief or that everyone that was watching the TV now had their eyes on her, some looked surprised, two of the looked a little mad.

"No." Tenten whispered as realization hit everyone and they were all now surrounding her, asking her questions and begging her for things though she couldn't hear any of it. She was too busy staring at the words that crossed he screen as her picture, one she sent to him a long time ago, came across the screen with the caption "My Beautifully, Unknown Ex" on the bottom.

"No." She whispered again as her hands shot up, protectively hiding her face "No. No. No!"

"That's enough!" A deep voice came from behind her, making everyone look up. Tenten shook. The sound of her bosses voice broke her out of her trans, but not out of her anger. "All of you get back to work, and if I hear any of you talk about anything entertainment related, I will have you terminated! Do you understand!"

The office was quiet after that, besides the sound of everyone's feet moving, rushing over to their stations as quick as possible. Tenten, who was practically unaffected by the whole situation, just stood there, staring ahead. It wasn't until then when she realized that, the whole while, Ikuya and Essence were blocking everyone from her to the best of their abilities.

"Tenten." Her boss started, turning her around to face him. "Are you okay?"

"I don't think she should be here right now." Essence started. "She looks like she will break again at any moment."

"Fine. Essence, take her home, Ikuya take her keys and follow behind with Tenten's car. Get back as soon as possible. Everyone is behind today."

"Yes sir."

Tenten stared at them, hearing them but not fully comprehending what they were getting at. She felt faint, ill and every other form of pain possible at the same time. She didn't know what to do at that time, let alone think, and as the darkness was taking over her field of vision and the last thing she saw was Ikuya running towards her, she could only get her mind to circle around one thing and one thing only. The one person she wished she could have hold her at this moment: Neji.

**With Neji**

He was rushing to the best of his abilities when being strained in a chair. And even though his body wasn't moving, he was still fidgeting, tapping his fingers on the car door as Yuuya drove towards Tenten's house, since, sadly, he was the only one who knew where it was. It was then that Neji began to regret only going to his place before and after dates. So, as he studied ever turn and corner that they encountered on their rushed but quiet drive, Neji growled to himself, feeling a deep rage like no other for the first time in a long time. And quiet frankly, the fact that Tenten lived so far away from his pace and the shop only added to his flame, but who was he to blame for his anger? So far, all he could see was himself being the one at blame because he knew something bad was going to happen. He just wasn't expecting it to be anything like this.

"Who was that anyways?" Yuuya asked, snapping Neji out of her angry trans.

"Sabaku no Kankuro, Tenten's ex before you." Hinata chimed in from the backseat. Out of all of the girls that were left there after Tenten left, she was the only one that could miss a little time so she came. "He and Tenten broke up because he dropped one of their dates so that he could pose in a Bachelor magazine."

"What?"

Neji clinched his fists as he tried to ignore the conversation going on. At this moment, he couldn't get the image of Kankuro's smiling face on the Talk show out of his head and that was what was angering him even more. This was the second time he hurt Tenten and that was one too many times on his account. By then, Neji was swearing to himself that, if he ever saw Kankuro again, he might not be able to control his temper.

"Why would he do that?"

"Does it matter?" Neji scolded as he looked out the window, his temper finally reaching it's peak. "He did what he did and ruined something he could have had, thankfully, and now his fucking shit up again and when I see him I'm slapping the living shit out of him."

"Oh." Yuuya groaned as he sunk lower in his seat, glad that he was no longer on Neji's bad side.

"Now that I think about it..." Hinata began. "Will Tenten even be at home right now? She did have to go back to work."

"If shes not, we'll juts wait for her outside." Neji answered as he calmed down. He was glad the conversation had changed. Hearing anything that involved Kankuro was starting to get to him. "Which apartment is it?"

"210." Both Hinata and Yuuya said as they climbed out the car after putting on their disguises. Neji sat there a little longer, tying his hair up into a ponytail that would comfortably fit through the hole in is his baseball cap. He looked about the parking lot and spied her car instantly then sighed a little in relief as he put on his shades and headed towards the entrance.

Just as the group approached the door, a woman and man came out with somber eyes and ran into Yuuya and Neji, the two unmovable forces there. The man stumbled a little but the woman fell back instantly. Crying out when her but hit the ground. She sat there for a moment as the wind breezed by, blowing her curly blond hair into her face. The man beside her looked up, covering his face from the sun for a moment to get a good look at the perpetrators.

"Wait I know you." He said, pointing at Yuuya as Neji helped the girl back up and apologized. "You're that one guy that Tenten dated."

"Huh?" The blonde called, pushing past Neji to grab Yuuya's face. "Oh yeah, you're that Yuuya kid she had a picture of. Wow you're prettier in person."

"I'll say." Ikuya growled lowly as he eyed the boy with hungry eyes, making him shiver.

Yuuya pushed himself out of her grip and stood as far away from the two as possible. "We're here to see Tenten. Is she here?"

"Yes, hun, she just got settled in." Ikuya answered, swirling his hand lazily.

"It was terrible. Everyone in the office bum rushed her the moment they saw her. We tried to block them but in the end it was our boss that ultimately stopped everything. He let her go home early today."

Neji cursed under his breath and pushed past the two of them then ran upstairs, bypassing the elevator in his hast to get to her. He no longer cared about what the two others had to say to the strangers that knew Tenten, all he cared for at that moment was Tenten, and anyone that knew could tell how badly he needed to get to her with the way he was rushing.

Bursting through the doors of the second floor, he began to panic and couldn't help but whimper at his uselessness. _210. _ He thought to himself. _Where the hell is apartment 210. _He ran down the hall, looking frantic as his head swiveled from side to side till he reached a room that read 210 somewhere in the middle of the corridor.

"Tenten!" He yelled as he hammered at the door breathing harshly. "Tenten it's me. Open the door."

After some time he heard some soft sounds of shuffling coming from the other side before the door, to his relief, opened and revealed to him a frowning and tired looking Tenten. Sighing in relief he rushed in, taking her up in his arms swiftly before closing the door behind him, ignoring her persistent screams of terror. "Shh." he coed into her skin as he sat her down and stood straight, pulling off the sunglasses and his hat. He was about to reach for the ponytail holder when he was attacked, much like he did to her earlier, with a hug that brought him to the ground and a crying girl at that.

"Neji." she whispered happily through tears. "Oh Neji! I'm so glad you're here. How did you know where I lived?"

"I got Yuuya and Hinata to take me. Why weren't you answering your phone?"

"I broke it. Where's Hinata and Yuuya?"

"They got caught by these two people that know you. Are you okay?"

"Now I am." She smiled as she fell into his chest and sighed happily before breaking into tears again. "But what am I going to do now? Everyone knows that I know the girls."

"It'll be okay." Neji cooed as he continued to inspect her. When that woman said she was bum rushed, he almost expected to see her covered in bruises and cuts, but he was pleasantly surprised to see nun of the such, save for a few barely noticeable bruises he gave her from...unmentionable nights.

"How?" she questioned as she sat up. "I literally got attacked by everyone at my job save for two or three people and that was seconds after they found out. My boss gave me leisure days so that I can let this...thing pass by. I broke my phone Neji... I loved that phone!"

"I'll buy you a new one, okay?"

"But I don't want a new one, I want that one...and I can buy me my own phone."

"I know that." Neji smiled. "But for once, give me a chance to spoil you the way I want to."

Tenten stared at him, anger evident in her eyes even though it wasn't originally supposed to be directed towards him, before she finally gave up and laid back on his chest, circling her arms around his body to the best of her ability. She sighed as she sat there, loving the comforting feeling she got from him. The way his hands hovered over her, caressing her back and kissing her cheeks with butterfly touches from his thumbs, always made her feel safe and she couldn't help but feel the need to be spoiled whenever he was around.

It was amazing really, the way he made her feel, because in the beginning all she wanted was a man that could carry himself just as well as she could while loving her in a way that praised her independence, and Neji wasn't even that, yet she couldn't help but love him. It was true that he was richer and more successful than she was, but he hardly ever seemed to respect her standing in the social class, granted he always thought she belonged somewhere higher, and he did love her, but the way he did it made her feel young and naive even. Yet, even with all of that she still couldn't think of anything that could tear them away. Not now, at least, because, though she didn't want to admit it, she loved her rich, slightly annoying, deathly handsome, overly sexy, god like, playboy of a boyfriend.

"I'm sorry this happened to you." He whispered into her neck, sending his warm breath down her spine and calming her down gradually.

"It's not your fault though." She sighed as she shifted into a more comfortable position. "It's that K-"

"DON'T...say his name. That is honestly the last person that I want to here about right now."

Tenten laughed. "You and me both."

Neji chuckled a little before they fell into a comfortable silence fully equipped with that annoying creaking noise that all old apartments get when someone walks above them on a certain area. Looking around, Neji couldn't help but sigh miserably at the place Tenten called home. "You should really think about moving."

"Where would I move to, Neji." She sighed as she traced her fingers up and down his chest. "I hardly have enough to afford rent here while indulge in my everyday life outside my poorness with Hinata and the girls.

Neji shrugged before sitting up a little farther in order to get a better look at the girl lying on him. "You could always move in with me?"

Tenten froze then stared out at her apartment, taking in everything that was there, and she had to admit, there was hardly anything memorable enough to get her to want to stay. So, naturally, when he brought up that option, she had every intention to day yes immediately, because living with Neji would be double bonus; she would have protection and he love of her life near her at all times. The only down sides would be that she's only known Neji for about three to four months and she didn't know if moving in with him would be too big of a step in their relationship.

_But then again..._ she thought. _He was the one who brought up the idea. Isn't it usually the other way around with relationships. Doesn't that mean something?_

She sighed then looked up, smiling as she watched for any sings of a joke in his eyes, and, though their usually unreadable and irksome, his eyes were clear with compassion and earnest for once. He looked about as serious as a heart attack and that was what scared her for a moment.

She was about to speak when Yuuya and Hinata came in with Essence and Ikuya following behind. She was about to usher them out before it was too late, but Neji had turned towards the door, taking a protective grip around her body, before anyone could react and the last two people Tenten didn't want to know about her relationship with Neji were the first to stare uncontrollably at the two on the ground with wide eyes that screamed out their inaudible words of surprise.

_Well fuck!_

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><p><strong>There I did it. I may not like it though, but hopefully, you guys will. It's not my best piece and it may not be the last one either since all this...blah is going on in my life, but I will continue writing when I get the energy because making people happy makes me happy and I need all the happy I can get.<strong>


	31. Busted

**Disclaimer: I don't own this Anime/Manga**

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><p><strong>AN: I'm trying...**

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><p>Chapter 31: Busted<p>

"What the hell!"

The words came rushing out of Essence's mouth before she could comprehend what was going on. All she could tell from the looks of things was her dearest friend, Tenten, cuddled up all close and personal with Japan's most prominent, most loved and glorified fashion designer, Neji Hyuga. On her face, there was sure to be a look of surprise, one that didn't quite suit the tone her voice had carried when the words slipped through. On Tenten's face, however, was a look of utter shock. Nothing more, nothing less. It was the Hyuga that looked rather pissed at their entrance into the girls apartment.

"You're Hyuga Neji." Essence half screamed/whispered, pointing a perfectly manicured nail towards him. "The Hyuga Neji!"

Neji looked towards Tenten before he slowly started getting up, pulling his hair out of the high ponytail it was in at the same time. When he was standing up fully, he was looking down at them without a smile. He looked back at Tenten fr compensation, but she wasn't watching him. Instead, she was looking at the ground and fidgeting like a small child that had just been caught doing something they weren't supposed to be doing.

"Tenten?" Neji cooed as he turned to comfort her, but she pushed away, finally making eye contact before sighing and heading to her broke down couch.

"Essence...Ikuya...this is Hyuga Neji, my...my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend!" The both of them damn near screamed.

"You mean to tell me that the whole time we were helping you with your relationship problems it was with him?!" Ikuya asked as he stepped closer to Neji, motioning to him but not touching him, as if he couldn't and wouldn't dare even if he was allowed to.

"And that I could have used those exact words and motives and what not's to get to him as well?!" Essence complained as she walked towards Tenten and sat next to her. "You're dating a sex god, Tenten!"

Tenten looked up, smiling sheepishly towards her friend before pointing towards Hinata. "And that's Hinata Hyuga, his cousin and my best friend."

"What!" Ikuya yelled as he turned on Hinata who, seeing as the gig was up, took off all of her items of disguise.

"Hello." She cooed as she stepped past Ikuya to stand next to Neji.

"What!" Ikuya yelled again as he stepped back till he reached the small wannabe bar that sat just before her kitchen. "What?"

"Tenten." Essence cooed, taking her hands. "Why didn't you tell us earlier."

"What?" Tenten questioned. Neji stepped closer, as if he was going to say something to her, but Hinata stopped him. She had to handle this on her own. "What do you mean?"

"Tenten, hun, this changes everything." Ikuya started after his dramatic show of surprise. " if we had known of you trying to get at someone as prestigious as The Neji Hyuga, or that you even had a chance with him... we would have told you to do so many different things to mack sure that you win him over that you wouldn't even have to had struggled through this project."

Yuuya scoffed a little before stepping up and speaking himself. "What, exactly do you mean?" he asked with a cock of his head as if he couldn't wait to her their answer to him.

"What we mean is..." Essence stood and made her way towards Yuuya. "That we would have had him, Mr. Pretty Boy, eating out of her hands, groveling at her feet. Hell, he wouldn't be able to get enough of her once we were through with her. The Neji you would know, wouldn't even exists whenever she was around."

"Really?" Yuuya asked.

"Yes, hun, really." Ikuya started. "But it's a little too late now."

"Not necessarily." Essence chirped as she danced about Neji, examining him as if he was some kind of toy. "Rest assured Neji-san, when Tenten comes home with a little something new to try, you'll know who to thank." Essence winked stood and started for the door. "Now then, come Ikuya. Tenten will explain everything later when we're not on clock. Till then bye-bye."

"We will call when we're on break deary." Ikuya added just before he closed the door, leaving Yuuya, Neji, Hinata and Tenten alone in silence.

"Well that was...eventful." Neji started after some time of silence, making Tenten sigh in relief. "So they're your friends form your job?"

"Hai." Tenten answered as she sunk into her sofa, loving the uncomfortableness for only a split second. "I have to deal with them butting into my social life daily, and at first it was really hard trying to hide you guys from them, now it's going to be hard to keep you guys from them."

"Why were you hiding us to begin with?" Neji questioned.

Tenten looked at him with a confused face before realization sunk in and she felt really bad for saying something like that. "No! Not like that!" She started. "I just thought that if I were to tell them about you guys, then I would never hear end of it and that all of japan would know by sundown that day"

"So you didn't trust them to keep your secret?" Hinata asked.

"Well, when you put it that way..."

"They seem like they really care for you." Yuuya broke in. "Enough to keep your secret out of respect if nothing else."

Tenten looked at all three of them, feeling like she was being ganged up on, before she looked away to hide her face. Her ego was slowly being eroded away by people she thought cared a little more than what they seemed to be showing at the moment.

"Tenten." Neji started, getting her attention. "You keep your social life a secret, you keep your work life hidden from your social life, you hide your relationships and you fear ever being found out. Why?"

"What?" she asked.

"Why do you do all these things that only seem to complicate your life more than it should be. Why hide yourself from the world, including the ones you claim to love so much." Yuuya added, clearing things up.

"You never told us where you worked, even when you didn't seem to have transportation and we were willing to take you." Hinata started.

"You didn't tell Hinata, my own cousin, or the rest of your friends abut us." Neji added.

"Why are you hiding things?" Yuuya asked.

"Because..." Tenten started as s looked away. "Because I don't want you guys to leave...me."

Neji looked at her skeptically before he looked over at the others who were watching her with similar confused faces. "What do you mean."

She looked up at them with wide eyes that were about to water over at any moment before she sighed and looked back do at her hands. "Okay. I guess it's about time I told someone this...Sit down, though, this will take some time."


	32. Her Downfall

**Disclaimer: I do not own this Manga/Anime**

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><p>Chapter 32: Her Downfall<p>

"I was born to a star. My mother was, needless to say, one of the most known people in China. She was a strong beautiful woman with so much potential that she had to give up when she had me. But that's beside the point. The real thing is that I…was a mistake…a happy mistake.

"It was the winter of my parents' anniversary. My dad was a visiting freshman from a college in Japan, and he was as much a tourist as anyone else there. He was taking pictures and getting food he had never had before, all of it! He was a little overly excited about it, but that's what made him stand out to my mother, who was, at the time, getting dropped off at her next gig, she was an actress by the way. Anyways, she got her driver to stop the car and managed to get my gullible dad to get in so that they could talk. I men it didn't take much, a beautiful woman asks you over to hang out, who wouldn't say yes to that, right? Well, he wouldn't that's for sure. He was ready to go anywhere she asked him to. Basically, he was her dog, her boy toy, and she loved to play with him, tease him and whatnot. She liked having him around, and he liked being around her, tasting a little of the lime life in China for a moment…till he had to go back, but that was in the back of both of their minds. I mean, she was a high-strung female actress sensation, getting a chance to live the life she never got to live as a teenager since she started show business early, and he was a younger, college boy taking advantage of the opportunities he managed to get in a foreign place, and they were both just wanting to have fun.

"Well, as time moved on, about two weeks had passed I believe. My father was convinced that he was in love with my mother, wanting no other woman in his life but her, however, she couldn't return his feelings. The media had started getting on in their times together and secrets about her "mystery man" had started to spread, and her manager didn't want her to be shamed, so she wanted my mother to break things off with the two of them…She told him she would do so the next time she saw him.

"But she couldn't.

"When she showed up at their meeting place, fashionably late of course, he was sitting on a park bench, breathing at his hands, waiting with a thermos of hot chocolate and flowers and candies, looking confident and determined, and when he saw her, he smiled so brightly that it made her heart skip a beat, and she knew right then and there, that she couldn't leave him alone. She couldn't break things off with him…she loved him.

"And that night they planned secret rendezvous in which they could meet without being caught. Before her rehearsals, during her breaks –she gave him a backstage pass and a key to every place she went to – after rehearsals, late at night, whenever. As long as they were together, they were happy.

"That happiness, though, had to go. He was heading back to Japan soon…for school. And in truth he took too long of a break to begin with, so he was more than likely behind drastically, but he didn't care as much at that time, but on their last meeting, he had told her the horrible news, held her crying figure in his arms, kissed her, caressed her, held her some more, kissed her some more, and they stayed together that whole night…and in the morning, he stayed a little longer, nearly missing his flight back, just to spend some more time together before he had to go. It was hard for the both of them, but my mother took it the worst: She was pregnant…and with me.

"It took a while for things to actually show and for her to try to have to explain everything as well, but, in the end, she decided to keep me and ignore what the media was saying. And I was born in pride, though she was shamed all over the country for having a child while unwedded. She had raised me for three years, showing me pictures of my father every chance she could get and telling me how awesome he was and how perfect we would have been as a family, but then…on the day of my fourth birthday…my mother was murdered in her dressing room and no one knew who it was. To this day her death is still a mystery, but to me, it's nothing but a depressing memory of what she used to be. It took a whole week for her manager to take me to japan to find my father, who was just as devastated as I was on finding out about…well me and my mother, and from then, I have been living here with my father, my now fame hating father, who taught me that everything about being worldly known was horrible, that staying hidden was my best beat at staying alive and happy…and free.

"But now…I won't have any of that." She looked around at the three people that watched her casually, trying not to show any emotion to her confession.

"I guess you could call me scared." Tenten laughed with a slight shiver in her voice as the tears threatened to fall out. "I mean, all my life, the only thing my father told me to fear was getting found out so it's only natural that I'd freak out about it, right? So I guess that's why I didn't wish to tell anyone anything. My mother was killed brutally by a possible colleague that's still alive, my father never trust anyone afterwards, thinking that they might be coming for me next at any time, so, naturally, I picked up on that kind of paranoia/trust issue outlook on life, and I'm sorry that I can't…trust anyone. I really am, but that's who I am…and I can't change…not now."

Neji and the others just stood there, staring at her for a moment before he sighed and headed towards her, taking her up in his arms as he sat next to her. "I understand." He cooed into her ear. "And I will be here for you…no matter what. Okay?"

For a moment, all Tenten could do was stare forward to the best of her abilities with slightly watered eyes at the two that were watching them. She blinked then and looked around, trying to keep from crying, but it was inevitable, and the tears came rushing down her face anyways. So she just choose to wrap her hands around Neji as hard as she could.

Neji sighed once again then began rocking back and forth, trying to calm her down since she was going into a full out crying fit. "Everything is going to be fine. I promise. I will protect you…I love you."

**The Next Day**

Tenten sighed as she looked over the room she was in. at the moment, the only thing she didn't want do was watch TV, because, sure enough, she had been found. Well at least her apartment had been, and currently every celebrity based news castor was outside her door, talking about how they were going to get a "one-on-one" run in with THE Tenten, THE ex of the lost Sabaku sibling, THE girl tat hid from the world of paparazzi, and though she should have been laughing or happy at least about their ignorance, she couldn't help but feel a little more than uncomfortable with the scene that was unfolding on the TV screen in front of her.

"Staring at the TV like that doesn't improve your situation, Tenten." Neji smiled as he walked passed her, handing her a cup of tea before he sat down. "Let's just change the channel shall we."

"But I like seeing them fail." Tenten complained as Neji took the remote. She didn't seem to protest much passed complaining though.

"You need to get your mind off of them for right now." Neji sighed as he sat next to her, just close enough to give her some room but him some comfort with her presence. He looked at her and smiled a little. "The last thing everyone would want from you, is for you to worry some more."

She sighed then looked back at him before she scooted closer till she was underneath his arm, cuddling close to his chest. "What am I supposed to do, Neji?" She questioned. "I mean. How am I supposed to go to work when they find out about us when everyone's in an uproar from hearing about me knowing the girl's?"

"About us? You plan to tell the media?"

"No." Tenten nearly screamed as she jumped up to look him in the eyes. "I could never do that. But now they know how I look. My face will be all over the magazines and billboards and commercials long enough to have everyone notice me even when I'm in disguise."

"Disguise?"

"My hair." Tenten started as she let her hair down from her usual upkeep. "For some reason, this is the one sure fire way to ensure that everyone doesn't know who I am when I'm with you."

"You look the same to me." Neji shrugged.

"Duh!" Tenten smiled as she moved in closer to his face. "That's because you've seen me enough times to know that it's me. This look you're more used to."

"Not that I minded your other look either." He smiled. "You look cute either way, Tenten."

She stared at him before her face slightly reddened and she found herself rushing away from him as fast as possible, but he was faster than her, so he was able to grab her before she left. "What are you getting all flustered for?" he laughed as he pulled her back towards the couch, pinning her underneath him. "Hm?"

"N-nothing." Tenten flushed as she looked away.

"Tenten…" Neji started, getting serious enough to make her turn back towards him. "…I love you."

Tenten blushed a little before she looked away suddenly. "I know that, idiot." She whispered.

"Then you also know how irresistible you are to me." He added as he lowered his face till his lips were brushing her collar bone. "And how badly I want you whenever you're around."

"Sounds like lust to me."

"Oh it's not." He sighed as he sat up to look her in the eyes. "I mean it was lust before, but now…it's so much stronger than that. I can't get you out of my head, I freak out whenever I think something bad might happen to you while I'm not around. I mean, you are literally the only thing that runs through my head throughout the whole day, and that's what happens when I've at least seen you or heard from you once. I can't even imagine how I would be if I hadn't had any contact with you."

"Sounds pretty possessive to me." Tenten teased as she sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down with her. "I like it, but don't go overboard with me, Neji."

"It's a little too late for that." He smiled as he closed the gap between them, locking his lips against hers as he allowed his rigid body to relax with her touch, kicking his shoes off as he began to slide on top of her till she was completely underneath him.

"I love you so much." He cooed as he moved down to her collar bone, making her smile as she took in his kisses.

"_If you thought the mess with the lost Sabaku sibling was bad, then wait till you here this!"_ Came a very loud voice over the TV, momentarily catching Tenten's attention long enough to have her watch the screen till a familiar face came across the TV screen.

"Wait, Neji look!" she yelled as she launched up and reached for the remote, regardless of Neji's small protested groan. "Isn't that the man from that night, on our date? Isn't he the one that you scared off?"

Neji looked at the screen a little before his eyes went wide. "Shit! That's the guy I scared off?"

"Yeah?" Tenten questioned as she grew weary. "Wait…who is this man, Neji?"

"That's Fukui Shun." Neji sighed as he ran his hand over his face. "He's one of the most widely known Reporters around when it comes to celebrities. He always has a story and backup for it too."

"_We all know, by now, about this little panda girl here that was dating one of the Sabaku siblings and possibly knew the other two and more…well I got some more dish on this pretty little flower, like the fact that she's done more than just hang around some famous people. Exhibit A."_ Fukui pointed towards a screen that showed several images that all looked familiar. _"This is the rumored 'Girl in the Yellow Dress' image that was part of a collage of the bachelors magazine that managed to contain stars ranging from pop stars like Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino, to famous business owners like Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku Gaara, but they added another ingredient to their concoction, this girl. That's right! The Girl in the Yellow Dress is the same girl that dated Sabaku Kankuro, and not only that but…" _He pointed again at a different screen, and showed an image of Tenten hiding behind Neji as he seemed to be glaring at the screen, and next to that was an image of her looking up at him as she headed into the restaurant, hand in hand with him, smiling at Neji brightly, and next to those two was another side image of her when her hair was up, smiling once again, at Neji who was in mid hug. _"She's now going out with The Neji Hyuga! Can someone say UPGRADE!"_ He laughed to himself before he turned towards one of the camera's that allowed him to be the only one seen. _"But hey, if you don't believe me…"_ He started as his face started fading into darkness while the previous images seemed to fade out of it. "_Just have a look yourself…at the immense amount of evidence."_

"No way…" Tenten cried as she sat back against the couch. "No freaking way."

"Tenten…"Neji started, but he couldn't finish talking. Not after seeing her face the way it was, covered in tears and looking like the image of a pitiful person. She started shaking her head as everything really sunk in and she was slowly coming through, looking like she just wanted to disappear.

"I can't believe it." She cried out as she tucked her legs close to her body and began rocking. "My life…it' over."

Neji just sat there and looked at her as the tears began to pour down her face. The only thing he could think to do to comfort her…was to hug her. So he did just that, and he never once let her go, no matter how mad she got or how harshly she tried to jerk away from him. He just sat there, holding her, and whispering to her that he loved her over and over again.


	33. Fame

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…**

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><p>Chapter 33: Fame<p>

It had been a week since that Fukui guy put out that broadcast about Tenten, and she's been kept up in Neji's house that whole time, avoiding life and trying to remain calm in her state of panic. However, the battlefield she was fighting alone only got worse as more and more images of her were leaked and as more paparazzi searched for her daily. Recently, she had to delete her blog and other social sights because of the hate mail she was getting from unreasonable fans of either Kankuro or Neji and she had to change her number as well. The amount of pressure placed on her in one go was immense and that was juts from the world around her. Inside her, there were some things going on that she couldn't handle alone but had no choice but to do so in the first place.

Neji helps when he can but he needed to go to work when he could, and since he was used to the whole celebrity being attacked by paparazzi thing, he was able to leave and handle them, but whenever he was gone, her panic attacks came and she had to handle them herself which only added to her stress. Basically, her life had turned to a living hell that only Neji could calm with just his presence alone. It was, needless to say, horrible.

"Tenten?" Neji called as he waked in.

Hearing his voice lone had done the trick to calm her down as always. The moment she knew he was there her whole body seemed to relax and she was able to move again.

"Are you hungry?" He asked as he walked in, looking worried, tired and stressed, but, lately, he's always been looking that way. Tenten couldn't tell if it was her fault or the presses. Either way, whenever she saw him she couldn't help but feel excited yet sad at the same time. Seeing him stress so much for her sake was taking its toll on her as well.

"I'm not hungry." She answered.

"Okay." He paused as he headed to the kitchen. "Let me rephrase that. Tenten, did you eat today?" He asked again.

She didn't answer, allowing him to take that as a no. So he started preparing with a sigh, knowing that for the rest of the night, he would be watching her watch the food as if her staring somehow made it go away. "You have to eat, Ten."

She didn't answer again making him sigh once more. "I'm worried about you, you know." He cooed as he started chopping some chicken. "I hate when I have to leave you alone here…it kills me just as much as it does you to know that people out there that want to hurt you have done so much in the span of two weeks to torment you, and I want to help you…but if you keep doing things this way, you're only going to get worse."

"Sorry." Tenten nearly cried from behind him, surprising him momentarily when she hugged him from behind. "I know. I know that I should get better, that I should do something about this but I-I'm just so scared. They could hurt me. Someone could seriously hurt me! Or worse…like my mother, and I just get so scared."

"I know." He smiled a little, glad that she even moved from the spot she had kept to for two weeks, then turned so that he could hold her as tight as he could. "I know. It is scary for you isn't it? But, Tenten, you don't have to worry as much. You have me here for you."

"And us." Came a deep voice that had her jumping and Neji shielding her form whoever it was, only to be calmed upon the presence of the heavily disguised group.

"Lee, Sai, Shikamaru, what are you doing here?" Neji asked as he stepped towards them, unaware that Tenten was still holding onto him.

"We came to check on her." Sai smiled as he pulled off his hat and jacket."

"And maybe make her feel better in the making as well." Lee added.

Shikamaru just stared at her with bored yet curious eyes, causing the small, currently fragile girl to shrink away from his stern look. "The others are on their way." He started as he slowly took his eyes off of her and focused on Neji. "Though Kiba and Shino won't be able to make it. They're about to departure soon for their tour in America. Also, your little protégé with the weird eyes is on his way over with Hinata and her father."

"Why is he coming?" Neji asked. "It's not like he knows Tenten. He didn't even know she existed until the news report was released."

"Hinata said he wants to see the girl himself." Lee added

"He says it's important, and that it might help her." Sai sighed as he looked up from his pad, locking eyes with Tenten, who stared back with a hint of fear and fierce curiosity, making him smirk as he shook his head. "You look awful." He sneered.

"Sai!" Neji yelled.

"What? It's true isn't it? She's been hauled up in this foxes den for a good week, and as long as their interest in this matter with you and her lives she'll continue to stay her, fearful for her life while the rest of us, the ones that know her, are fearful for her sanity. What reason does she have to be so fearful of the press? Sure they're annoying beyond belief, but they aren't, or rather can't, hurt you physically. If they make up lies about her, she has someone to back her up and clear things up instantly, if they're going to point her out to all of Japan, then the most effective way is to get direct quotes from her and close up, prepared pictures, not side shots like they did to find her. There's nothing to really be afraid of."

"They CAN hurt me!" She yelled, finally leaving Neji's side to confront the man that steadily kept drawing regardless of her outburst towards his harsh words. "The things they say about me can hurt me! It can hurt ten times more than physical abuse. In just an instant, because of people like them, my name can be slandered. In just a second I can be thrown into this chaotic world where everyone that doesn't _know me_, know me, will hate me on sight. In seconds, I can lose everything because of something so trivial and unimportant. My life can be ruined, name shamed, life over in just a matter of seconds" she stopped and took a much needed breath of air that sent shiver down her body, allowing her to calm down and back away from the man she hadn't realized she drew too close to. "And al because of the press. All of that can happen…because of them."

She fell to her knees once the adrenaline stopped and she regained her senses enough to realize what she had done, yet, at the same time, she didn't feel the need to apologize. She felt like she had every right to state her opinion and feel no shame for it, and as she sat there encouraging herself in her head, the room was quiet. Everyone was watching, including the group of new people that came in while she was yelling. She felt them watching her, felt them judge her, but she still felt no shame, no remorse what so ever for the men that greatly outnumbered her, for the men that stood, stoic and unmoved by her outburst, not even for Neji. Oh no. What she felt instead was this overpowering since of self-righteousness sweep through her, allowing her to breath once again, letting her feel good for being her usual witty self once again, and she liked it. However, it wasn't enough. No matter how much she enjoyed the feeling of power over herself, she still found no urge or want to try at smiling again.

"Do you feel a little better now?" Sai asked as he bent over and pushed his drawing pad towards her.

At first she was confused, knowing the artist all to well, she as sure that no one was allowed to look in his many sketch books, but this time, he seemed to be wanting her to see what it was he had drawn, so she looked down and all but froze at the sight of…well, her.

Without a doubt, the drawing of the enraged woman on the page was her. She had the same face, the same messy hair, the same eye color, but the eyes seem so…lost, dejected, hurt and more. They weren't nearly as alive as she had hoped, but no matter how she looked at it, it was her, a tattered and hurt her, but her nonetheless.

"Go on." Sai started as he stood and guided her and the book to the couch. "Go backwards."

So she did, and with every turn she felt her heart shatter just a little more than it already was. The first picture was her while she was yelling at him, eyes wide and confusing and no hint of danger at all, but rather fear. The second one was her holding onto Neji, staring into the distance with scared eyes that bulged out of her face. The third one was her hiding behind what she assumed to be Neji, again, with a dirtied face, skinny and unseemly, and those same fear reddened eyes that burned. After that was another picture of her, an older one that caused more damage to her than the previous ones. It was a close up of her face, a profile that managed to point out the fullness of her lip, her round, child-like cheeks that glowed, her bright eyes filled to the brim with life and happiness as she stared off into the distance. Her hair was up in a sloppy looking bun that had random pieces of hair out of the upkeep and creeping around the base of her neck. The yellow on her shoulders, the dress she wore, only added to her happiness. Over all the picture looked like she was having fun, and though this one was enough to get her to understand what he was saying, something told her to continue, to ignore the tears that threatened to fall.

So she kept turning the pages, kept searching through the many pictures Sai drew some with her I them and some with others she's seen of, heard of, and or met. She stopped every once in a while on certain pictures, like the ones that had both her and Neji in it, and the one where he caught her staring at Neji while his photo was being taken for the magazine, and others she rushed passed only to return and linger, like on the one of Kankuro and Gaara standing together, talking, but the one that really got her, was another one of her. She was standing, tall, straight and proud with eyes packed with anger and hurt, tears were even about to fall, it was dreadful, and explained exactly how he felt now. The only thing was, in that drawing, she looked…alive. She sighed then regrettably turned back to the latest pictures and studied the difference in her eyes, before she closed the book and refused to look up.

"You're better than this." Sai started after a long pause. "I hardly knew you, I know, but just by looking through these pictures, I feel as if I've known you for all my life. Your eyes" Sai started as he reached for his book and opened up to the drawing of her at the shoot, "They were happier…here than in the other ones after it."

"You were happier." Neji started as he sat on the arm of the couch beside her and took her up in his arms, hugging her close to his chest. "I miss seeing your smile."

"If it makes you feel any better," came a deep voice from the corner of the room closest to the door, making everyone look up only to see Gaara standing at the door with Temari. "I don't talk to him anymore, though that's because he put me in this as well."

"And I beat him up!" Temari started as she walked towards her, stopping when she found herself too close. "I'm really sorry, Tennie." She whined. "I don't even know how he got to get an interview set in the first place."

"Father must have done it for him." Gaara sighed as he ran a hand through his red hair. He looked up at the girl sitting on the couch then started for her never flinching once even when the others around her seemed to react to his movements rather harshly. He stopped only when he was in front of her, ignoring the hands form Uzumaki and Uchiha that lay on either side of him, and when he was sure that he had her undivided attention, he dropped to his knees and bowed his head slightly. "I apologize for not taking proper care of my brother." He looked up. "Please forgive me and my sister for his ignorance."

Once again, there was a long pause before anyone even decided to breathe, let alone talk to the young man on the floor. "I-it's alright." Tenten stated as she looked away, feeling her face grow hot. "Y-you can get up now."

Gaara smiled as he stood then sat beside her. "If you ever need anything, I'll be there for you. I at least owe you that, ne?"

She blushed yet again before she looked up at Neji, having seemed to have gained some of the color back in her eyes, before she looked back down at her own lap. "U-un."

"Does that make Gaara an ally?" Naruto asked loudly just as another group of people came in, led by an anxious looking Yuuya and a nervous Hinata, who both calmed down instantly when they saw Tenten sitting on the couch, looking livelier than she did when the incident first started.

They were about to speak when Neji stood suddenly, eyes darkened and lowered. He looked like a feral animal that just spotted its worst enemy. "What is he doing here?" He asked, making everyone look past the rest of the people that came in – that includes Sakura and Ino – to focus instead on who he was obviously focusing his anger on.

The man in question rolled his nose at Neji's harsh words. "If that's how you normally great guest then you need to work on your manners."

"Since when did I ever invite you over as a guest, Hiashi sama!" Neji barked, confusing Tenten who didn't know all too well who or what this person was doing there, and why Neji seemed to hate him yet respect him as well.

"Hiashi...?" Tenten questioned quietly, still managing to catch the man's sharp eyes, and apparently ears.

"So this is the girl causing an uproar in the media lately. She's rather simple, no?"

"Hiashi sama!"

"Father, stop!"

The man looked over at his daughter with eyes that seemed to drain every ounce of rebellion out of her, making her shrink back instantly, and everyone that was around her, everyone except Naruto, moved away to some other place. Ino and Sakura moved closer to Sasuke while Yuuya moved to sit in the spot Neji once had.

The man, Hiashi, then moved his glare to Neji who held the stare with one of his own. Behind him, however, Tenten flinched away for him. "Either way." The man started as he finally looked away from Neji and focused softly on Tenten. "You are still apart of the Hyuga family, Neji, and because of her the name may not be as respected as it should be."

"So…" Neji demanded harshly, though his composure seemed to slacken.

"So…" Hiashi started. "I am here to help."

This time, Neji flinched back, and with eyes wide and confused he started to speak, to retort to the man, though all that came out was a bunch of incoherent stuttered words no one could make out. The utter look of shock on his face was enough to cover the faces of everyone in the whole room, and that alone was enough to get even him shook up on words to say, which only made Hiashi smirk, something that looked an awful lot like Neji's.

"Miss…Tenten, was it?" Hiashi called, holding his hand out towards her as if he was gesturing for her to come.

Tenten, being confused the whole time, looked around for support, but everyone seemed to be looking at her, trying to see what she would do, and her usual support was still froze in shock at the words the older man had spoken, so she sighed, gripped onto her tattered shorts, then stood and made her way across the room, stopping when she was close enough to smell the man's cologne from his fingertips. "Y-yes?"

Hiashi reached for her and pulled her a little closer, making everyone regain their consciousness, but still keeping them in their respective spots. The only ones who dared to leave was Neji, who stopped shortly after when he noticed Hiashi's swift hands push at the bangs that got out of hand and rub at the dirt that covered her face. He looked to be examining her face, trying to see what lay underneath all the grim and his soft touches only surprised the person he was acting upon, bringing more color into her eyes as she stared straight ahead at the man's chest, not daring to move even an inch.

"What are you doing?" Ino finally asked, being the kind who gets annoyed easily.

"This won't do." Hiashi sighed as he stepped back and pulled out a cloth and started at whipping at her face. "Do any of you know someone who can do a makeover on this girl two days from now?" Hiashi asked.

"Why?" Neji questioned back.

"Well, she can't go to her interview looking like this."

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><p><strong>Heh! I'm a mean person!<strong>


	34. The Solution

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Naruto**

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><p>Chapter 34: The solution<p>

Tenten sighed as she sat in the large room, looking over herself in the mirror. Neji was probably in the other room, working on her a new outfit for the interview she was unaware she had until yesterday. It was her first time meeting Hyuga Hiashi-sama, the man Neji seemed to Loath more than anything in the world, and she was already confused by the man. Hinata had told her that the party where she met Neji at was hosted by Hiashi, but that hadn't done much but make Tenten more confused seeing as she never went to address the man. Nonetheless, everything she was told about Hiashi, seemed to be lies and conspiracies the media had made up. She had heard he was a fierce man, not liked by most, unlikable all together, with an iron fist over the company he and his daughter runs. His glare was as hard as rock, and unbreakable, no one was able to hold an eye-to-eye conversation with him for long. Everyone was afraid of him, and he liked it that way. He never helped or helps anyone, not even those of his family name. He believes in the "your problem, you fix it" method and he spends all of his time ignoring the existence of the world in the safety of his office.

That was what she has learned about the man from readings and showings, but, having finally seen the man in question for the first time ever, she had reason to disagree with the media. So far, to her, he has been nothing less than a gentleman save for a couple of invasions of privacy and an occasional, though probably not meant, insult. He came in, much like everyone else had been doing that day, with a kind of power about him, true, but that didn't stop him from being seen as a good person to her. After all, the first thing he ever done for her was help her in the form of publicity. He had instructed everyone on what he needed them to do, told me that all I had to do was sit back and be pretty and get my story straight for the interview, told Neji to prepare a worthy outfit, one that was both showy but conservative, and even instructed Ino and Sakura and his daughter to find me makeup artists and hair stylists. By the end of that day, she had received a massage from Gaara, who was surprisingly good with his hands, a mani-pedi from someone who Ino invited over, a full spa treatment basically with the help of Neji's fancy bathroom, and a personal drawing, that somehow made her extremely happy, from Sai and Naruto, the surprise artist.

At the moment, he, along with everyone else, had left and she was left with Neji, sitting half naked in the living room where a large mirror resided. She was now looking at herself, pinching occasionally at the small bends of skin that rolled over when she slouched. She spent the previous hour rubbing at the heel of her foot, amazed at how soft they had felt. She would stop now and then with inspecting her body to inspect her nails, to play with her hair, or to rub at her toenails. Even when she was in a good mood and spoiled herself in the past, nothing she did to herself was anywhere near as amazing as what that woman, and Gaara, had done. She felt looser than usual. It was like everything she had stressed over had vanished in the moment that she fell asleep during her spa treatment, and now, as she sat in her underwear on a stool in the living room of Neji's house, looking at herself in all her naked splendor, she had to admit that she felt a lot better about everything. She had people helping her, a lot of people, a lot of famous people who were willing to plea in her case against Kankuro.

She stood and stretched before she reached for her robe on the floor just as Neji came in. He looked at her with a worried look that quickly perked into interest that had him throwing what he had in his hand over the stool and knock the robe out of her hands to grab her by the waist. "I didn't know it was my birthday?" He smirked as he planted a kiss on her cheek, feeling a little overwhelmed and slightly happy when she moved to kiss him, whether it was a peck or not, back with lips touching and eyes closed in peaceful bliss. It had been days, weeks, and almost even months since he's felt the touch of her skin against his and, though he didn't want to admit it, it was all thanks to Hiashi's interference with his life for the once again happy Tenten. There were still some things she was wary of, like actually going out on stage…alone, and the reaction of the crowd that would be there. For all she knew, as she had often told him, the whole crowd could be "Kankuro Kissers" that wouldn't even give her the benefit of the doubt the moment she stepped foot on stage let alone got the chance to speak. So yeah, she was still scared, and yeah she was still not fully willing to go out there, but, for some reason, her usual confidence was still there. It was obvious that she was still going to go no matter what the circumstances may bring, and that was the kind of girl that he had originally fell in love with. Slowly, she was coming back to him.

With great mental strength, he broke their long missed kiss momentarily before falling ploy to her trap again, allowing her to wrap her hands around his neck. He had almost lost all his strength to her, almost allowed her to rule him, but the sudden realization of things hit and he was back to trying to escape. "I got you something." He smiled as he watched her eyes slightly light up in curiosity.

"Your dresses. For your interview. I finished two designs and am kind of hoping that I can finish the third one soon."

"Is that what you have been doing since yesterday?" She asked as she walked over to the dress on the stoles, picking up on to examine. "They're cute." She smiled a little, feeling herself get a little bit happier. The dress was a black hi-low hem dress with a golden belt woven from some material she wasn't sure of with a golden dragon tat wrapped around her waist till the tail was flowing in the back.

She looked over at the other dress, smiling as she remembered the design instantly. It was a replica of another dress she remembered seeing long ago, one with a bat wing and a dragon that wrapped around it as well, except this time, instead of grey, the dress was a deep red, with no dragon and a black belt bounded tightly around the waist area.

Seeing both of them she didn't know what to choose. Both of them were beautiful, and the fact that he was planning to make another one, possibly just as gorgeous as these ones, was almost insane.

She looked up and saw Neji watching her with a serious face; hand on chin, eyes down casted but watching her and hair, messy as it was tied back tightly. He seemed to be waiting for something, someone, maybe her, but for what? To make her decision? Was he going to make his second design based off of what she was wanting to wear? She couldn't tell. Sometimes, reading Neji was hard and unmanageable, but somehow, she was able to get the basics as she walked towards the mirror with the hi-low hem dress still in hand.

"You like it?" He asked as he walked towards her.

"Can I try it on?" she asked feebly before she turned and started stepping into it, a broad smile spreading across her face as she pulled the fabric over her body, turning to face him before she went back to looking at herself, running slow hands down her waist as she traced her outline through the lose fabric that hid most of her curves. She smiled, turning then to look back at him and smiled. "How does it look?" She asked as she looked at him.

"Beautiful." He smiled as he stepped up. "But you always look beautiful."

She smiled before going back to look at herself again. "This dress is beautiful."

"It could use some accessories." Came a shrill voice that had the both of them turning.

Ino stood peacefully at the entrance of the door leaning against the frame watching them. "You really need to learn to lock your door she sighed as she walked in. "Hey Tennie, how you feeling?"

"Good." Tenten answered. "Why are you here?"

"Because I need to get the rest of your preparations for your interview prepared, duh."

"Preparations?"

"Yeah. From the looks of it, I need to get you some earrings, maybe a bracelet, some heels – oh but they need to have gold on them as well, that might be hard – I can get Honey to do your hair and makeup, lets hold off on the rings though, someone might misinterpret things that way, maybe I can get a necklace if it won't be too much…a jacket too, that might work, oh and – "

"Ino!" Tenten called with wide eyes that seemed surprised at hoe much she could say in one sitting. "Are you going to be buying all of these?"

"Is that a problem?" Ino asked.

"Yes. Ino, honey, I cannot have you buying me all of those things especially since you only shop for designer brands. It's not really that necessary."

Ino looked at her for a moment before she placed her keys and purse on the bar and headed towards her. "Tennie, you don't understand. Accessories make up a woman's outfit. They define what wasn't definable, they attract eyes to the things that need to be paid attention to, they make eyes catch the glimpses of shimmer they get form the lights that shine on them then proceed to make their eyes follow your every move. Tenten, accessories are life! You're not living life right without them no matter the cost!"

Tenten stood in her spot for a moment before she decided to move to speak. "Okay…but that's easy for you to say because you have the money for that kind of stuff. Ino, I don't shop, more like I can't shop the way you do, and after all of this is over I'm going to have to pay you back and I do not have the money for stuff like that so no."

"Oh you don't have to pay me back." She smiled as she stepped away from her, turning on her heels. "At least, YOU won't." She looked back at Neji, smiling innocently before she walked towards him.

"Neeeeeejiiiii-san." She sung.

"You can have the red dress." Neji sighed as he pointed to the other dress that was one of Tenten's choices, which she eagerly picked up and examined.

"Nice." She smiled. "I hope it can fit the same way though. Tenten's dimensions are different from mine."

"You have a wider waist but a less defined butt which results in skinner thighs. You're bust size is significantly smaller than hers and your shoulders are less broad, but because of that, you can actually wear the design better if I was to cut one of the wings off and have it as a one sleeve dress. That way, it will drape your body properly and bring out your features. Plus the fact that your eyes, hair and skin are so pale will make the dress more noticeable. Wear the black belt, maybe some black or gold heels and the rest of the accessories are up to you."

"Thanks, I guess." Ino started before she went back to Tenten. "Okay, so your payment is done, your dress is that one I presume, your accessories are planned out and your interview is tomorrow. Everything seems good."

"I guess." Tenten sighed as she sat down on her stool once again. "When am I leaving for my hair then?"

"Oh no, hun. Honey will come to you."

"Is that okay?"

"I don't mind." Neji sighed. "Tell me his dimensions and I can have an outfit ready for him by tomorrow."

"I'll text him and find that out." Ino cooed as she walked out with her new dress in hand. "I'll see you two early tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Bye Ino."

"Bye, love." She called out just as the door closed and the two of them were alone again.

For a moment, neither of them knew what to say to one another. They just avoided eye contact until the awkwardness of not speaking caused them to both turn and look at one another yet again. Neji, who had a stronger stare, smiled a little at her, making her blush then look away, giving him every opportunity to move in and pull her off the stool into his lap on the couch. She giggled, fighting slightly in protest but to no prevail, before she moved to get more comfortable in his arms, accepting her fate.

She felt his hands glide from around her waist to the gripping on either side of her hips and squeezing tight as his chin rested comfortably in between her shoulder blades. He sighed then as she sat there playing with the belt around her waist and smiling stupidly at nothing but the proximity of their bodies. It had felt like several years since he touched her like this, and all of that was because of her own selfishness, but now, as she there with him cradled in his lap almost as if she belonged there, she remembered how wonderful it felt to her to be there, to have his hands covering her whether they were greedily holding her or innocently touching her sides to hold her close. It was wonderful either way.

"I missed you." He cooed softly into her neck before he planted a kiss there then slowly began trailing down.

She squirmed to his touch, moved her neck instinctively since she was now sensitive there form the memory of previous kisses, but didn't protest at all, having missed everything too much to even think of doing such a thing. Right now, with the way things were between them, she was all too happy about her position and the last thing she wanted to do was give him reason to let go, but she also couldn't handle these slight touches he was giving her. Nothing greedy came up anymore, nothing to brash like she wanted at the moment, just butterfly touches from hands that hovered rather than laid. So, naturally, at the slightest sign he gave her, she turned then, making her body curve till she was the one straddling him with legs wide open and eyes too eager before she planted a kiss softly on his lips with a smile, one he held as well.

No more words were needed. Everything she wanted was clearly presented in her one action and he knew it. Now, the only thing he had to remember to do was to control himself so as to not rip the dress he had just made.

**The next day**

She was nervous. That was obvious, but she was more nervous than needed be. The day before she was relaxed, so relaxed she decided to wind down a little with Neji, take a bath…or two, and just live her life, but now, as she stood backstage watching from where she sat the people that poured in she could feel her strength, her confidence, depleting. She wanted to go home.

But she couldn't. so many people had done so much for her, Hiashi had booked her an interview, Ino had prepared her makeup, Honey did her hair, Yuuya texted her occasionally to keeo her happy, Hinata did as well, Gaara was amazing with his hands and she wondered why he wasn't a masseur of some sort, Temari was constantly apologizing, Sakura was…well, being herself, that always did tend to help at times, and Sai was constantly asking her if she could use her face and design and the such for new character he was going to use in a manga, which, in its own way, was a compliment from the boy. Then there was Neji. Words could not describe what all Neji has did for her besides the comfort and the complete and utter acceptance of her in her worst state. He was, basically, being the perfect man, staying by her side and keeping her company, making her comfortable and dealing with her many breakouts in the middle of the night. He was so perfect in that small amount of time that she was more than willing to do anything, ANYTHING, for him whenever or wherever.

She loved him, and as she thought about that he walked through the curtains messing with his tie, a sign of seriousness form the young designer. "You ready?" He asked as he walked up to her, smiling that smile that only she was able to see and take in. "It's almost show time. Wow looks like a full house tonight."

"They all hate me." She sighed as she looked up at him. "Every single one of them think that I am nothing short form the worst person on earth let alone Japan. They hate me and they are going to boo me before I even get the chance to explain myself."

"Nonsense." Came Neji's smooth reply as he sat down beside her, turning her over in her rolling chair till she was facing him. "They can't hate someone they do not know. Besides, you look too gorgeous to be hated. I bet the moment you step out, all of the 'boos' will cease, the crowd will be in awe and all eyes will be bestowed upon you long enough for you to captivate them with that beautiful smile of yours."

"You're too much." Tenten smiled as she leaned in and kissed him. "You do realize that the possibility of that actually happening are very slim."

"Nope, It's going to happen. It's inevitable."

"Neji." Tenten laughed just as an applaud echoed through the room and two very known voices spoke in unison introducing the show's title and all making her flinch in anticipation.

"Are you okay? Do I need to go out there with you?"

"No." She answered all too soon. She then stood, stretched and looked herself over once more, fixing her belt back into position. "Seeing you there right off the bat would only make things worse and that's the last thing I need. Sorry, but…I'm going out there alone."

Neji smiled at her though she couldn't see him smile then placed both hands in his pockets as he stood. "Then…good luck."

She turned then smiled at him, nodding her response before she was cued out by one of the people backstage who led her to the hand of the masked man everyone knew and loved and she stepped foot onto the stage.


	35. Awestruck

**Disclaimer: I DON'T own Naruto**

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><p>Chapter 35: Awestruck<p>

"Wow."

That was literally the only thing she could hear when she stepped foot on the stage. The host, Kakashi, was speechless as he helped her up and over to the couch with his one visible eye looking out into the crowd multiple times. He then sat her down, flushed as she was then stood back with the other host, Iruka, to look her over sternly.

Anyone could tell that the moment she walked in, she had almost half of the male audience members there eating out the palm of her hand, and some of the girls there was awestruck by the strength in her walk and the beauty that she possessed as she stepped foot on the stage. Everyone could see that, except for the girl who was receiving all the attention. In HER eyes, she saw a crowd of people that were momentarily caught off guard by the dress and accessories, waiting for a perfect moment to pounce at her with boos and hisses and possibly even a shoe thrown and aimed at her face. So, to say she was scared, was an understatement. The only thing keeping her remotely close to calm was knowing that Neji was just backstage, ready to come out if and when needed.

"Wow." Iruka said once more before he turned in disbelief to the audience and held his hands high above his hands. "Can we get a round of applause for this beauty here with us tonight? Doesn't she look amazing?!" He yelled immediately getting a loud screeching of eager people cheering and clapping. It was plain to see that they accepted her, so she relaxed little by little until she was able to truly smile and really woe the crowd as she politely bowed her appreciation.

"You look beautiful, Miss Tenten. Is it okay if I call you that, no one seemed to have given me a proper surname so…"

"Oh, no! It's quite alright. My father preferred to not have our whole name out there anyways."

"Your father did?" Iruka questioned.

"Yeah, he has a fear about publicity and it kind of rubbed off on me so-"

"What?! You must be terrified right now!"

"I was." Tenten smiled slightly, feeling it fade as her fears sunk in once again. "I-I thought everyone would have booed me the moment I stepped out. I thought no one would even try to understand my situation and that I would be hated by everyone."

"Oh dear she sounds so scared." Iruka sighed.

"Well then, I guess it's a good thing that she's in the presence of the best crowd ever." Kakashi dead panned, earning an ear popping screech from the crowd that had Tenten jumping then clapping as realization hit.

"Yes! This is an amazing audience. Thank you all for not booing me." Tenten smiled before she giggled then attempted to cover it. Her nerves were getting to her, no doubt. She wasn't used to getting so much attention let alone talking about herself in such a manner.

At the moment, with the 50 something people looking at her, she could feel the eyes of thousands more watching her and just the thought if that was enough to have her giddy and bouncing like a high school girl in front of her crush. She didn't like it, she was uncomfortable and was hoping that the duration of the night would yield to a better feeling resonating through her as the interview process went on. However, at the moment, the crowd seemed to be eating up her shy-girl-ness.

"So, Tenten-san, how about we start with an introduction. Not that many people here know who you are yet so why don't you stand up and give us a nice introduction."

Tenten eyed Kakashi for a moment before she looked down then stood reluctantly and looked over the crowd. She took a big breath then looked back down to play with her belt before she looked up once more and exhaled. "My name is Tenten, last name not provided, and I am an average everyday citizen. I work in a large corporation, but for a smaller section of it. The only real difference between me and you, are the people that I know. I knew Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura, Hyuga Hinata, and Sabaku Temari before they were these prominent figures. I stood beside them while they built themselves up and stayed in my less position as a normal person for as long as I could. I kept everything a secret and I want to publicly apologize to those that are close to me who may have been hurt from that. My fear should never misplace my trust in my friendships. I promise it will never happen again." She sighed once more before she looked over at the two host who sat silently in their seats, watching her long enough to have her fidgeting and wondering when she can sit down again.

"She's…she's so fragile." Iruka stated, earning an agreeing nod from Kakashi.

"So, from there, I can assume you have been to many events and stuff like that?" Kakashi asked lazily as he ushered her to sit with his hand.

She nodded once she sat and adjusted herself into a comfortable position. "Most of the ones that weren't messing with my hours I attended."

"And where did you meet Neji-san?"

"Ah! On the party Hiashi-sama held on a boat. I didn't get that far into the actual party part though. I kind of got lost."

"She where did you meet him?"

"The lower deck. I kind of got angry at Ino and needed to get away before I re-met her."

"And there he was I presume?"

"Yes, with that one girl who was almost always around him –"

"Kin."

"Yes. He ushered her away though and I hardly ever saw her again since that night."

"From what we understand, Hyuga Neji is here, backstage right?" Iruka asked excitedly.

Tenten smiled brightly as a slight blushed formed. She had always done so when someone referred to him by his full name. She never understood why but it happened, and everyone interpreted it as her excitement at Neji being around and belted out "aww's" in response, making her cover her cheeks franticly before she nodded shyly.

Kakashi laughed whole-heartedly before he stood and headed towards the stage. "Then shall we bring our Ex-bachelor of the month out?" He asked the crowd that responded excitedly for Neji's presence. "Alright, alright! Allow me to introduce Hyuga Neji…after these commercial breaks!"

There was a mix of reactions to his trickery. Most of which were disappointed aww's mixed in with that one sigh from Tenten who was holding her breath without knowing. She heard music in the background playing softly signaling for everyone to head out and take a break. She was about to head out herself when she was stopped by a kind hand in her shoulder that scare her more than anything. She turned quickly, locking eyes on Iruka as he smiled down at her.

"Oh!" She started as she turned to face him, taking his hand and shaking it while she bowed slightly. "It's you. You scared me."

"Ah! Gomen." He apologized as he sat down beside her. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to talk to you personally since some things I want to say won't make the screen time. Is that okay?"

"Yes. That's fine." Tenten smiled as she looked down shyly. She messed with her bans once more before she looked back up, trying to hide her blush.

"You really are very pretty, Tenten san." Iruka sighed as he reached for her hand once again, examining her nails. "Completely different from the picture Kankuro had of you."

"I don't even remember taking that picture." Tenten started as her face got serious, much like it always did when she was talking about something she didn't like. "He must have snuck a picture of me when I wasn't expecting it."

"I see." Iruka smiled. He then looked up smiling softly before he let go of her hand and leaned back in his chair. "And the thing about you're fear of publicity, what's the story behind that?"

"Would you believe me?" She softly asked, getting a quick nod for a response from the eager Iruka who leaned a little closer towards her as he fell back on his knees. "Okay…okay, so, as you probably guessed I'm not a full blood."

"As in Japanese?" Iruka asked.

"Yes. I'm half. My mother was Chinese and my father is Japanese."

"Your mother _was_?"

"Yeah." She smiled sadly as she looked on. "When I was three, my mother was murdered from what my father stated."

"Ah, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's not like you did anything."

"I see." Iruka laughed a little as he looked on. "So…what does that have to do with your being afraid of publicity?"

"My mother was a famous woman in China. She had met my father by chance when he was on a trip with his colleagues there and he instantly fell in love with her the moment their eyes met. She felt the same for him and everything which I guess he was really lucky for, but anyways, while he was there for a week I think, she and he spent a lot of their time together. The press around her had grabbed a hold of their relationship and used the new information at every chance they could, and her fans didn't really approve but they couldn't do anything about it, especially since they knew he was leaving soon, which he did, but…well…he didn't leave without giving her something to remember him by I guess, and-"

"That something was you." Iruka smiled as he tried to hold back his laughter.

Tenten nodded then looked back down and played with her hair once again before she started talking. "I had only knew my mother for three years of my life before she was killed by someone who was crazy mad at her for having a child and loving said child, and all the press did was add to it by adding more and more pictures of me and her, smiling. He even said that seeing her face with mine so much made him do what he did. Even after hearing that, you'd think they would feel obligated to lay low for a while, but the moment my father stepped back in China, the press was all over him and me at the funereal, making up there false stories and anything else they could think of to get their stories on the headlines. It really got to my father and he kind of-"

"Hammered his beliefs into your head about the press being dangerous."

"Yeah."

"So you're actually really terrified right now."

"I'm trying not to shake as much as when I was backstage. I think I'm actually calmer now, but…yeah, I'm still – I'm still shaking."

"You poor thing." He started as he reached for her hand in attempts to calm her down. "Do you want something to drink? Can she get some water out here please?!" Iruka called out, instantly getting someone to come up with a water glass.

"If you don't mind me asking…" Iruka asked as he carefully handed me the glass. "Who exactly was you're mother? What was her name?"

"Ah! Qui Na."

"What?!" Iruka started as he stood abruptly just when Kakashi stepped up with a glass of water that, inevitably, spilled all over him. Irritated, he looked up then started whipping at himself before someone came and handed him a towel while Iruka smiled and apologized beside him.

"What could possibly get you this exited?" He asked as he went over to his side of the stage.

"Ah!" Iruka near screamed as he remembered and headed towards his own seat just as the crowd started filling in. "I'll say when we get back on air."

Tenten looked at him for a moment, still in shock from the reaction of the older man before she looked back out into the crowd and her fear suddenly returned. She tried to find something else to look out at, but all she could see was them and their eye locking on her as she stared out at them.

"Back on in 10." Someone yelled out, making Iruka and Kakashi stand as the countdown began. She stood too, not knowing what to do, and instantly regretting it the moment the clapping started and they were both looking at her with smiles. "We're back. We're back. Hello and welcome to those of you just tuning in with us. Today we're with Ms. Tenten, The hidden Sabaku sibling's ex girlfriend, and the girl who's been behind the scenes in the lime life without our knowing."

Tenten smiled a little as the camera and everyone's eyes focused on her and the applause started. She was still a little confused that no one was booing her yet, but she figured not to bring it up since she had gotten this far, so, instead, she decided to keep smiling and waving until Kakashi and Iruka started sitting, signaling her to sit as well.

"Now," Iruka started with an excited smile on his face. Off air, I was taking with Tenten and –"

"He spilled water all over me." Kakashi interrupted, getting the crowd to laugh as he swung the towel around, hitting at Iruka. "It was cold!"

Iruka laughed before he looked over back at the camera. "As I was saying, I was talking to Tenten, and she was telling me some more information about why she was afraid of publicity and…it's a complicated story but, the big thing I heard from her was who her mother was. Like we can all see that she's not fully Japanese, ne?"

The crowd agreed simultaneously with yesses and head nods before the commotion died down and Iruka was back to smiling like a kid in a candy shop. He looked at Tenten and gestured towards her. "Young Tenten, bless her soul, has no idea how popular her mother really was. Do you all want to know who her mother was?!" Iruka asked, getting a loud screech from the crowd along with some applauses from both them and Kakashi who was easily getting annoyed until Iruka screamed out "Tenten's mother was the famous Qui Na!"

"Eh!" everyone screamed at once, Kakashi looking the most surprised seeing as he stood just the way Iruka did before he quickly rummaged through his pockets and pulled out his phone as he walked over to her and placed it near her face. She tried to turn to see what it was but he was holding her face still, so she sat there, looking awkwardly ahead towards the camera as he stared in awe at her.

"Alright, alright. Give the girl her space. The producers got a picture so calm down." Iruka smiled as he pulled Kakashi back to his seat, and all eyes were one the screen in the middle of the stage, and there, right in the middle, was a picture of Qui Na squishing her babies face as it looked towards the camera with wide eyes the way Tenten was doing when Kakashi held her face as well. The baby, like Tenten, had a dark eyes and skin paler than hers but lighter than most everyone else's in the room. Her hair, stringy as it was, was pulled back into two sloppy buns that barely held her baby hair there, and in the corner of the screen was the image of Tenten with her hair pulled back into two buns on top of her head as well.

"Ah." Kakashi started as he sat down. "You look just like her too."

"Why did you have a picture ready though?" Tenten asked, quickly covering her mouth after she had said it.

She was sure that everyone there wouldn't have appreciated her mocking of the host, but, instead, she got nothing but a bunch of laughter and one shocked person trying to calm the crowd down so that he could explain himself.

"Ah! I wasn't expecting anyone to ask that question."

"At least she's calmed down a little." Iruka smiled towards her, making her smile as well before she looked back at Kakashi and bowed her apology."

Kakashi bowed back before he stood then stretched and looked back over the crowd. "I think their getting restless." Kakashi started as he walked over to the edge of Iruka's seat. "WE did promise them Hyuga Neji, did we not?"

The crowd responded in applause along with Tenten as she looked at the edge of the stage, waiting for Neji as Kakashi waved him in. Her smile only grew wider as the first sign of him hit her, his face peeking out from under the curtains that were too low for him to pass through without raising them a little, and it continued to grow the louder the crowd got once he was fully on the stage, looking over everyone with his signature smirk and a slight wave.

He started walking towards his seat, stopping only to shake both Iruka and Kakashi's hands with a slight nod and bow. He looked back to the crowd once someone yelled his name and waved once again before finally fixing his eyes on Tenten who was eagerly waiting him in her own seat, slowly clapping with the broadest smile on her face ever, and he couldn't help but smile back, something that had everyone's cheers getting louder.

When he sat down next to Tenten he nodded towards her as he tried to hide his smile. However, that was easier said than done when the person making him smile was smiling so much for him as well. She looked and seemed to be acting much more relaxed the moment he was on stage, anyone could tell, especially the hosts.

"Ah, look at this, he's trying not to smile!" Iruka called out, getting the crowd, and Neji, to laugh.

"What was that?" Kakashi asked excitedly, standing up and heading over to the two. "Was that a laugh? Ah!"

"I'm sorry, should I stop?" Neji asked as his serious face came back.

"Ah, no, no, no! No I didn't mean anything about it." The crowd laughed as Kakashi bowed and headed back to his seat. "I just thought, 'Ah! I've never seen this guy smile so much.' Is all."

"People should bring her whenever they want to get you to smile." Iruka joked getting everyone to laugh.

Neji nodded with a slight smirk before he looked back at Tenten whose smile returned tenfold the moment their eyes met. He winked at her, making her laugh then cover her face as the crowd elated at their reactions towards one another. There were many there that probably hated the thought of Neji, the previous King of bachelors, to be taken and by some nobody at that, but with the way he was smiling at her, and the way she was smiling at him, no one could bring themselves to boo this relationship. That was how things felt at the moment.

"So, Neji san, we heard a lot about you being rather active this year." Iruka started as he brought everyone back down to earth. "Like, you have been doing a lot of thing you wouldn't have normally done."

"Starting with that school of yours." Kakashi started. "I heard you were trying to hold a fashion show for your students' final exams. How is that going for you?"

"Well, actually. I know a lot of people, so I managed to get some actual judges and one special guest judge."

"Oh so you're not judging their final pieces?"

"No."

"And Tenten san, you knew about this too?"

Tenten shook her head. "I was asked to be one of the student's models."

"One?" Neji responded instantly, getting both of the host to laugh. "My top three students asked you, at the same time, to be their model for their pieces. Their still waiting on your answer too."

"Ah, their finding their own models like you had to?" Iruka asked, and, once again the crowd started cheering as a picture of younger Neji and the twins came across the screen, and Neji, who was watching the screen all the while, smirked and started clapping himself.

"Yes." He answered. "I figures that would be the best choice of action, though…" He looked at Tenten then and smirked. "It kind of backfired. Most of them went to Tenten instantly."

"Really?"

"They were either asking me to be their mode like the three top students, or asking me if I could ask the girls to come and model for them." Tenten added.

The crowd laughed lightly just as Iruka was about to speak. "Who exactly are these three top students?"

"Is this one of them?" Kakashi asked as a picture of Meme and Neji showed on the screen. Meme was looking up franticly at Neji with a puppy in her hands as Neji was looking down at her with a hand through his hair, seeming frustrated but tickled at the younger girl's actions.

"Ah!" Neji shouted.

The crowd reacted to his words with a bunch of "Ohh's!" and "Ooo's" as if blaming him.

"So you know her?"

"Yes. She is one of the top students." The crowd erupted again, and Neji had to stand to get them to quiet down. "But she's not one of the top three because of that. She's really good at designing. Besides she dumped me that same day."

"What?!" Both host yelled in surprise. "**SHE **dumped **YOU**!"

"Yes."

"Why?" Iruka asked.

Neji looked at him for a few seconds before he stole a glance that lingered at Tenten who was watching him the whole while, though she couldn't see that he was looking at her. "She said I looked like I was thinking of something, or rather someone, else the whole time."

"Ah." Kakashi started as he looked at Tenten who looked at him, then Iruka before going back to Kakashi and pointing at herself.

"Me?" She asked.

"Who else would it be?" Neji asked, poking her in her side, getting a squeal from the girl before she could even cover her mouth. She looked out into the crowd that slowly started laughing at her reaction and a blush covered her face. "I'm sorry." She apologized quickly.

"That was adorable. You are adorable." Iruka started as he pointed at her with a smile. "How did a guy like Kankuro ever get everyone to believe that you were this un-adorable girl?"

"Yes. About that? Can you bring to light what happened on the day you broke up with him?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes." Tenten started as she fixed her belt once more before looking back up with a slight smile. "Well, for starters, he had at least provided the correct date."

"What was happening that day, exactly?" Iruka asked.

"It was the bachelor's photo shoot."

"And you were there?"

"Yes. I was invited by Neji."

"Why?" Kakashi asked Neji this time.

"She had nothing better to do." Neji shrugged. "Kankuro had just canceled their date, so I asked her to come over to the shop and pose as a mannequin since all of mine were given to my students for that week. That was when one of the people from the magazine came and asked us to come pose."

"Us?"

"Yeah, I was with…um…Lee, Sai, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke."

"Okay."

"Anyways, the…magazine person said that I could bring my work with me and work whenever I wasn't taking photos."

"Couldn't you have just finished it there then left?" Iruka asked, getting Neji to look at him with eyes that seemed to be saying "are you an idiot", before he shook his head. "No."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted her to stay with me longer."

"Oh." Iruka answered as Tenten blushed slightly while the crowd Ooed again.

"Then what?"

"I saw Kankuro there." Tenten started. "And, as it turned out, his brother didn't need him for anything. Like it wasn't important at all the photo shoot. Gaara san wanted nothing to do with t but Kankuro begged him to do is so that he too could make some money to start up his designer thing he was trying to do, and, don't get me wrong, I was all supportive of his dreams, but that was the third date he broke for something like that, and he knew that I was getting irritated with that reason for breaking our dates so he lied then expected me to be okay with it."

"So that's why he was there, in that magazine?" Kakashi asked, and both Tenten and Neji nodded.

Kakashi then sat back in his chair with his eyes staring at the both of them, looking to be agreeing with them, and that was all they needed for proof that, by the end of this filming, the whole crowd would be on his side which was, inevitably, their side.

Tenten smiled as she looked back at Neji with all signs of being nervous or scared gone. He smiled back at her then reached across his chair for her hand, and she easily reacted, placing her hand in his for show and for comfort. She was better, that was now obvious. She was calm, she was herself – joking and trying to change uncomfortable subjects as soon as possible – and it was defiantly something to rejoice about.

And, as the show ended and they were standing, hand in hand, looking at the screen with their own comfortable faces, Tenten was all but too eager to say their final words.

"Signing off as Iruka-"

"Kakashi"

"Neji"

"And Tenten."

"and this has been…"

"The Hidden Truth!"

"Bye." Tenten cheered, not just to the crowd, but to her past fearful self as well.

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><p><strong>That ending…I hate it…but this was getting way too long.<strong>


	36. Extra! Extra!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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><p>Chapter 36: Extra! Extra!<p>

It had been a good month since Tenten's appearance on The Hidden Truth with Neji, and she would eagerly agree with anyone if they told her that she looked happy, because she was. She had finally returned to her job and gotten her daily doses of Ikuya and Essence and her baby-faced boss. She still ate lunch with the girls, save for getting a couple of pictures taken of her here and there, and she still went over to "the shop" to see Neji, Yuuya, Meme and Kanae. She was able to do everything she wasn't able to do when her publicity was scary to her, and it only added to her happiness when she found that her clearing u things didn't really slander Kankuro's name more than it did to adding love towards hers. She was relieved, touched, and happier than ever with her new life. Sure it took some time to get used to the people at her job constantly asking her questions about her friendships with the girls and how she managed to get in a relationship with THE Hyuga Neji, but all of that was easily handled by giving them exactly what they wanted when they wanted until they gave up. The only real thing that never went back to normal was where she was living, because ever since that incident she has yet to return to her old apartment. Staying with Neji in his obnoxiously large home was better than returning to a dreary place like that, and, since he was okay with it as well, she decided to stay…permanently.

Thinking back, she found herself wondering why she never actually tried to become popular with her popular friends. Where was her rebellion at? She never knew, but now, since she was living the somewhat-lime-life, she couldn't imagine going back. She could openly have her friendship with the girls and her relationship with Neji and because of those she no longer stressed about trying to hide things. Since Neji and his uncle helped her regain her composure and return back to her old self her father was rather accepting of their relationship – not like that was going to stop her – and was very happy with how happy Neji was making her. He still hated all of the publicity she was receiving, but, for her sake, he said nothing much about it…

…is what she would like to say about things.

Besides everything that happened in about the talk show, nothing else was going all too well for her. Her father had seen her on TV and after really thinking about it, he still hated it, hated him for getting her in this situation. Every day he called her and asked to speak to Neji only to try and convince him to leave his "precious little girl" alone because she was too sensitive to the world and all that was around her, and, though it annoyed her that that was what he was doing, nothing really changed between her and Neji. In fact, with everything that her father was telling him, Neji felt that he was growing closer to him with his responses. Like, her father would ask: _"What happens if she gets attacked by a deranged fan?"_ and Neji, being the smooth talker he was, would respond: _"She wouldn't be attacked in the first place since I would be there WITH her and deal with the situation before it ever started. She might get frightened but nothing worse than that."_ He would ask: _"Tokyo is too far from her home town anyways. How will she be able to come visit whenever I need her, or when there's a holiday, or if she just wants to?"_ And then Neji would respond: _"Traveling has never been a worry of mine. Which one would you prefer, the private jet is faster but she's never been on a plane before so she might actually prefer a car ride. I'd have to ask her. Besides, it gives me a chance to finally meet you personally."_ Then, for the fifth time that month her father would ask: _"You want to meet me?"_ and Neji, who was getting better and better at answering her father's questions, would respond: _"I think it would be rather rude to not meet the mother of my kids."_ By then she would be listening to the conversation, blushing, smiling or doing whatever in response to Neji's answer.

"_She's pregnant?"_

"_No."_ Neji would respond. _"I plan to marry her before that happens hopefully."_

"_You better."_

"_Am I getting through to you yet sir?"_

"_Hm…wait, no. I still don't like you!" _

And then he would hang up and Neji would say bye even though he wasn't there before facing an overly excited Tenten who was more than ready to accept him so that she could "comfort" him from the "pain" caused by his "arguments" with her father.

But the thing with her father wasn't the only thing she had to deal with now. Sure she finally got rid of all of the hate mail and calls telling her to kill herself and things like that, but now, oh now, she had to deal with the constant flashing of cameras every time she so much as stepped outside of the gated community she now called home. Already, she had been blamed and slashed by the paparazzi for cheating on Neji and vice versa; her with Gaara, her newly obtained friend, and Neji with Kanae, the only other popular student of his that the press hasn't seen, and even the twins. The Gaara thing was the only real thing she had to get cleared up since they started calling her a Sabaku-killer, but Gaara himself handled that. Looking back, those accusations were actually very funny to the both of them and, to this day, they still joke around a lot with the cheating until even they grew tired of it.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, she kept getting pestered to do something else with her life. Many of which involved modeling, something she didn't really want to do for no reasons needed. As far as she was concerned, noting associated with modeling seriously suited her. That was something they should have been asking Neji, Hinata or Ino, not her. However, ever since that whole "girl in the yellow dress" episode, she's never been able to get that idea out of the presses minds no matter how hard she tried. Overall, nothing seemed to be clearing up with the paparazzi. They just loved to be in her business, in their business, whether it be with her friends, Neji or her coworkers, and, to top things all off, she might be submitting to their requests soon enough.

"Have you decided yet?" Yuuya asked the moment she stepped around the corner into Neji's shop.

She smiled a fake smile towards him before throwing her purse at him, successfully getting him to look up from his work. "No. I haven't. It's too hard. Why do all three of you want me for a model anyways, Neji's not even a judge on this."

"We know that." They all answered.

"I just wanted to actually SEE you wearing the clothes I designed not just imagining how they would look on you." Yuuya sighed. "That sounded perverted."

"It did." All three of the girls giggled as Tenten stole his chair.

"You do realize that there is literally like three weeks left until the fashion show right? We need an answer sooner rather than later. We're kind of wasting our time waiting to see who you would pick." Kanae complained.

"I know." Tenten complained as Neji walked in with Lee, Naruto and Sasuke following close behind. He almost looked too surprised to see Tenten sitting there but it was replaced with a smooth smile and a quick kiss on the cheek before he looked at Kanae.

"Hello love." He joked.

"Good to see you again darling." Kanae laughed back while Tenten sat there with a fake gasp.

"Neji, how could you!"

"Oh for the love of – we get it. The paparazzi is stupid." Yuuya complained.

"Have you decided yet?" Neji asked Tenten as he squeezed her nose playfully.

"No!"

"Pick Kanae. That will give the press something to talk about."

"Good idea." She smiled before she stood and walked around him to examine his friends. "What fine specimen you brought with you today. Whatever are there here for?"

"Male model options." Lee smiled eagerly.

"They need male models too?" Tenten asked Neji as he nodded.

"Did you?"

"Yes and no. I managed with my girls."

"How?" Everyone asked, obviously not knowing anything about this part of his past as a beginning fashion designer.

"Make up. I made one of them look as masculine as possible then had her put on the outfit. It wasn't that easy. Their bust sizes weren't that big. So I didn't have to worry about one of them having a nip slip on stage or anything. Why? Is it really that important?"

"Can we do that?" Meme asked the others seriously. "Like, with our models?"

"Unlikely." Tenten cooed as she looked between the three who look too serious on the topic. "None of us as small enough to do something so daring like that and NOT slip up. The smallest you have would be Ino but even that's going to be one hell of a task…I mean, I'm not saying that her and Temari wouldn't mind trying it, but it's not a good idea, trust me."

"So." Neji added. "You might as well just select someone from here or find your own model.

"I call Naruto-kun." Meme said quickly, making the blond smile broadly.

"The rest of them are coming later if you don't want to use Emo and Big eyes." Neji sighed as he headed to his office.

"Then I call Sai." Yuuya added.

"Who else did you invite?" Kanae asked.

"Besides these three there's Sai, Shikamaru and Chouji, Kiba might come with Shino if they have time, and I think Gaara said he'll help too."

"I want Gaara then." Kanae smiled just as Tenten smiled as well.

"It's settled. I pick Kanae. The press will eat this up. Being your "lovers" model along with my "lover" modeling beside me. It's perfect."

"Seriously?!" Yuuya questioned. "That's your reasoning."

"Is that a problem?" Tenten asked as she leaned her head on Kanae who stuck her tongue out at the irritated boy who glared back at them.

"Forget it. I'll get Ino."

"Oh. Good choice. She's sure to bring attention wherever she goes."

"Shut up." He complained as he sat there, pouting.

"So you're going to end up a model anyways, Tenten?" Naruto added as he came over, mainly to look over Meme's work. "The press really is going to love this! Ah, Hinata-Chan would look cute in this."

"I thought so too." Meme smiled.

"How would you know?" Neji asked as he headed towards them to look over the design. Of course, it would look adorable on Hinata considering the style that Meme works best with, but he wasn't sure how Naruto would know that.

"She looks cute in everything she wears." Naruto smiled, oblivious to Neji's growing glare, "But this kind of stuff looks really cute on her she would look like a doll."

Neji moved to say something but, looking back at it, he couldn't help but agree. In his mind, hardly anyone was more adorable then Tenten, Hinata and Hanabi. Just complimenting one of them in front of him was sure to get you on his good side immediately, and though Naruto was already on his "good-side" he was a constant member of the fence riders, meaning that he waivered from being on Neji's good side to his bad side frequently.

"She should be your female model then, ne?" Naruto asked Meme who was deep in thought. She was looking through all of her designs drawn out in her sketch book. The finished ones she could get Hinata to try on easily so that adjustments could be made, but the current one she would be working on, the one Neji hasn't even seen finished yet, she would need to get her measurements and soon.

"Okay. That sounds good." Meme agreed before she looked to Tenten who was already texting her friends.

"Ino's already replied, she said, and I quote: "I would love to, cutie", end quote. I'm waiting for Sakura to answer her text. She must be busy, Temari said she should be open that day, and Hinata said she wouldn't mind at all. Should I be asking anybody else?"

"You're coworkers?"

"They will do it. All I have to do is tell them about it and they would ask me if they can somehow get involved."

Neji nodded then headed to his office to phone the others while Tenten stayed where she was and looked over Kanae's pieces. She couldn't help but smile as she flipped from page to page of the scrap book Kanae put together. The pieces were just amazing. "You guys have come a long way huh?"

"It was tough." Kanae started as she looked over everyone there. "It was defiantly an uphill battle for us. We had our ups and downs but…in the long run, we made it. I'm glad I made it this far with you guys."

"You say that like we were going to allow you to ever quit on us." Yuuya scoffed as he walked up to her. "You're stuck with us…forever!"

"Oh shut up!" She yelled as she made her way to Neji's office, smiling all the way. At the moment, nothing, and she meant nothing, could go wrong for her anymore. So, as she walked into his office in confidence and saw him smiling at her as he talked casually yet business-like on the phone with someone like Sasuke or Lee or someone like that, she couldn't help but smile at him in peace.

"Thanks." He sighed as he hung up. "Naruto and Gaara are totally up for helping apparently. I haven't gotten in touch with Shino or Kiba yet, but I think they'll call when they're done with whatever it was they were doing?" He walked towards her, smiling as he took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. "Things are going to change, you know?"

"I know." She smiled.

"Like really change. If you go out there, this will be the second modeling job you've done, and people are already trying to get you to do something other than work at your current job since you're dating me."

"Because apparently I'm not good enough."

"I think your perfect."

"That was so cheesy."

"I know." He smirked. "I regretted it the moment I said it.

She laughed then leaned in closer to him. "Can we go?"

"Go where?"

"Home."

"Now?"

"Yes." She smiled. "I want to go HOME now."

"…Oh… hold on. Let me get my things and we'll be on our way back, okay?"

She nodded then headed out, bypassing the busy students with a sly smile as she walked by. Not long after, Neji came running out, locking the office as fast as he could before he caught up with her, wrapping an arm around her waist and leading her out wordlessly.


	37. Okay (Will delete later)

**OKAY!**

This next one is going to be really long. Like, longer than my usual ones…and there should be one more chapter after this and it'll be shorter than usual…maybe.

Anywho! Sorry to all of you for being gone for like…two years almost with this one, but I had no idea how to start it back from where I had last stopped.

Plus with college and all, I hardly have the time.

But for my other ones:

Amor sempiternus(Internal Love) (NejiTen)

Unexpected (NejiTen)

Zodiacs (SakuraxXxAkatsuki)

I'm still starting on those (Well save for Amor Sempiternus, that one was supposed to be shorter actually) so they still have a ways to go. IDK when I'll finish them but bear with me here. I'm trying.


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